Memento Mori
by TFulghum
Summary: Sometimes, in life, the most unexpected person is where solace is found - and, the least expected being love. Jeremy/Damon;SLASH. Season 2 Retelling.  Chapter 7 Posted, M.  1/12 Chapter 8: Coming Soon...
1. Prologue, Chapter One: Missing

**Memento Mori**

**Author's Note: This is my first 'The Vampire Diaries' fic, let alone my first legit fic in a looooooooong time. However, I'm pleased with the outcome thus far. Do note: I'm relying on chunks of canon to make this seem more realistic, so stick around. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own "The Vampire Diaries", but I sure wouldn't mind possessing it. **

**-Tfulghum**

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**Prologue**

He was hurting. No, he was beyond hurting. He was dead. Jeremy Gilbert had witnessed death, and experienced it. Vicky, Anna, both gone. In the pane's reflection he saw misery, heartache. He wanted it gone; he wanted to turn it off.

Pacing back to his desk, he grabbed Anna's last gift: a vial of her blood, his new 'life'. Unscrewing the cap, he felt a slight tinge of guilt only to wash it down with his sorrow, gulping every drop of Anna's crimson love. _Now or never_, he thought. He wasn't sure how much time he would need; he'd never really contemplated a suicide with the intention of returning. He grabbed the bottle of Elena's pills and tossed them onto the counter, poured a glass of water, and grabbed a handful.

He swallowed, and waited.

The room began to zoom around him, while he remained stationary – a marionette to the drugs. Jeremy took a step, but stumbled. Clenching his gut, he made his way to the bed and carefully settled. His mind, although becoming increasingly intoxicated and weary, flashed flickers of memories: kissing Vicky, talking with Elena, laughing with Jenna, fighting with Tyler, feeling alone, hanging out at the library with Anna, hating Elena, hating Stefan, hating John, holding Anna, loving Anna, and…

Damon?

His eyes rolled back as death took over.

* * *

**Chapter One "Missing"**

Jeremy sat on the bed staring at everything, at nothing._ How could it not work? I died, right? Didn't I?_ He heard Elena coming up the stairs, but didn't acknowledge her. Stefan was with her, and he could hear them talking, but he couldn't really. Everything was out of focus. The world seemed to be distorted as the voices moved in and out. He was thinking about how-

Stefan grabbed him, "Come here, look at me."

"I'm fine!" Jeremy pushed away. "I feel exactly the same."

Elena's worry had finally started to bubble over, "Should I call a paramedic up here? What should I do?" She looked to Stefan for advice, helpless to help her brother.

Stefan continued to analyze him. After a moment he spoke, "No, he's fine." Elena exhaled a breath of relief.

"You mean I'm not a vampire?" Jeremy died, again_. It didn't work_. Nothing ever worked. "Damnit!"

"Don't say that!" Elena cried. "Jeremy…Jere, why would you want that?"

He got up and took a step towards his sister. "Did you hear about Anna? What happened to her tonight?" He took a breath as the reality of what happened hit him again. "She's dead."

"Jeremy, come here, sit down. Now I am very sorry about Anna, but it's very important that you listen to me right now: with every passing moment Anna's blood is leaving your system, but if you try to kill yourself you could really die!" Stefan couldn't tell if what he was saying was reaching him.

Jeremy's mind left reality once more, but was brought back by a sharp sting against his face, "Hey! Do you understand me?" asked Stefan.

"Stefan!" Elena gasped_. Maybe this isn't the right way to go about this_, she thought.

"Yeah," he closed his eyes. "I understand." Their voices faded out and he retreated into himself. _Why am I still alive? I hate this. I hate vampires. I hate everything. Vicky's dead. Anna's dead._

"…stay here with Jeremy."

Reality had returned, "No…I don't need a babysitter."

"Yes, you do." Elena declared. She looked to Stefan, "Please, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Tonight's just…I can't handle it if something were to actually happen to him –"

"Don't worry about it. Now go! They need you at the hospital."

Elena gave him a quick peck on the lips, a small gesture that made the biggest difference in the crapfest that had become the night. She left the room, and seconds later Stefan heard the front door close.

Stefan grabbed a chair and sat down, "Why do you even want to become a vampire? Don't you realize how stupid an idea that is?"

_How could you even understand?_ "I want it to stop. I want to turn it off."

"Turn what off? The pain? Because honestly, it's not as easy as it sounds."

"Damon sure made it sound pretty easy. He –"

"Don't take advice from Damon. Turning off your feelings, your emotions, there's more to it than just flipping a switch. When they go off, your humanity goes off."

"You act like that's –"Jeremy smirked. _This is ridiculous_.

"A bad thing?" Stefan paused. "If you turn off your humanity, you turn off more than just the feelings. You turn off the relationships, making every single person that you care for right this very moment open-ground when the urges take over. There's more to being a vampire than the glam of it."

Jeremy laid back and rested his head against the pillow. Maybe he was right. Anna's blood had saved him from an eternity of supposed damnation, the very thing he wanted. It was a sick irony. _But_, _maybe the vampire life itself just wasn't meant me_, he thought. He closed his eyes.

Moments passed; Stefan glanced at Jeremy. He stood up and walked to the bed, "Jeremy?" he whispered.

A soft snore escaped the younger boy. _Good_, Stefan thought. _Elena doesn't need another thing to worry about._

The door opened downstairs.

* * *

A few days had passed and the hysteria from the previous days had slightly calmed. However, with this calm led to the chance to mourn: Mayor Lockwood's funeral had finally arrived, and many wondered what caused him to pass away. For the select few who actually knew the truth, they were still puzzled why he was affected by the contraption meant for vampires.

As Jeremy arrived to the Lockwood estate with Elena and Jenna, they noticed the vast amount of people that had shown up. For a community-certified-dick, Richard Lockwood sure had some well-wishers.

"Looks like the whole town has turned out." Jeremy spoke. _To think, this could've been me…minus all of the people and well, the funeral itself. _

"Well, he is – he was the mayor." Elena replied. She still couldn't believe that the Mayor was dead. Everyone seemed to be up for grabs when it came to death.

"Then why do they save it for the funeral?"

"It's what people do. The Lockwoods were here for us when we went through this. It'll be quick. We'll drop off the food and pay our respects." Jenna interjected. They walked up the steps and she gave her nephew a smile.

"In and out? Sounds like a plan." He returned the gesture, but meant it unlike previous smiles. She had no idea what had happened, or what didn't. He was selfish; he knew that now.

Oblivious to the exchange going on around her, Elena caught Damon from the corner of her eye. "You guys go ahead, I'll be right there."

Jeremy paused at the doorway and looked over his should in the direction of his sister. Damon. Seeing the vampire gave him a weird feeling, and he couldn't quite place if it was a good thing or not. He rolled his shoulders, ignored the feeling, and entered the house.

For a funeral, everyone sure seems to be happy, he thought. Maybe some of these people are actually a little relieved that this class-A jackass was gone. He killed Anna. It's hard to hold sympathy for a monster. _There are way too many people_, he thought. He made his way through the crowd in search for an empty room to just sit and think.

Finally, after five minutes of crowd-weaving, he found a door to what he thought could be the study, he grasped the doorknob and pushed open. _Nope, just the bathroom_. He kept walking. He noticed an entryway and walked in. _Bingo_. However, after two steps in he realized that he wouldn't find solidarity: Tyler Lockwood was already drowning in sorrows of his own.

"Oh, sorry. I was looking for the –"he lied.

"Bathroom's down the hall." Tyler answered; half annoyed, half exhausted.

"Hey look, I'm sorry about your dad." He was, there wasn't a doubt about it. Jeremy took a couple more steps and leaned against the desk, across from Ter.

"I think it's been a pretty big day of 'sorry's from people who really don't give a crap." Tyler spat back, taking another swig from his flask. _He was a jerk_, he thought. _Why do I care so much_?

"I remember when my dad died: I had a house full of strangers telling me what a great guy he was. Anyway, I know how hard all this is."

"Difference is, in your case it was true. My dad was a dick." Jeremy smirked at this; maybe Tyler wasn't so bad after all. "Yeah, yeah he was." He replied.

"It's weird though." Tyler started. Jeremy looked to him awaiting the 'weird'. "I really don't feel that much for him."

"How do you mean?" asked Jeremy.

"I mean, on one hand, I'm ticked that he's gone, that he's dead. But, on the other…I'm glad, relieved. I feel like I'm free…from him, his judgment…I probably shouldn't feel this way."

The boys sat in silence. Tyler thought about his dad, as well as his own life while Jeremy thought about the opposite: death_. I let it control me_, he thought. _My parents, Vicky, Anna…everyone I love dies; I should just stop loving people altogether. _

"I found this in his desk." Tyler said, breaking the silence, as he offered the flask to Jeremy. The other boy could only stare at it. A part of him didn't feel right accepting the gesture, and Tyler saw that. "He won't mind, he's dead."

"Yeah, you know what? Sure. Why not?" Jeremy accepted the token and undid the lid. Suddenly footsteps echoed within the nearly empty room.

It was Mason. "Hey what's going on in here Tyler?" Neither boy was able to tell if he was angry or sincere with his interrogation.

Tyler's eyes darted to the flask in Jeremy's hand. "Nothing, nothing."

Jeremy caught on to Tyler's signal, but was too slow. Mason averted his attention to Jeremy, then the flask. "You got somewhere else to be?" He offered his hand to accept the alcohol. Jeremy motioned with his free hand, and then gave up. He returned the flask and offered Tyler a weak smile, and left the room.

* * *

Later that night, Jeremy returned home. _Would I have even been able to walk in had I become a vampire?_ It wasn't until after his second chance that he really debated the pros and cons of immortality. Rustling in the next room interrupted his thoughts.

_Who's in the house?_ Jenna and Alaric had told both him and Elena that they were going out for the evening, and Elena was probably with Stefan, as per usual. So, who else could be in here? He walked into the living room and stopped: it was John. Anger rose throughout his body. This man killed Anna; why should he be allowed to live? He couldn't form any words; he just stood there.

"Jeremy?" John had finally noticed his presence.

Moments passed before he could form a retort, an answer, anything. "What are you doing here?" His question was laced with venom, and John knew.

"I'm packing. Leaving." He tossed a shirt into his bag, ignoring the urge to fold it; Stefan had made it quite clear that his stay in Mystic Falls was well worn out, and with each second that the vampire's blood pumped through his own veins brought John's own panic to light.

"So you figured you'd kill all your evil vampires and then leave town." Jeremy was finally building his stance. He was no longer searching for words. He wanted this man out of his life.

"Not all, but enough. For now. Can you tell Elena I said goodbye."

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" _I'm not your messenger boy._

"You know, Jeremy, I was taught to hate them. The vampires. It's what I know. It's what you're father knew." John looked at his nephew sincerely. It was unfortunate that the girl he loved had to die, but it could not be helped: she was a vampire, and all vampires shared the same fate: death.

"My father would have seen things differently!" Jeremy shot back.

"No, he may have done things differently, but there's no other way to see it."

Jeremy took a moment to think. John's ring reflected what little light there was in the room and directed it at Jeremy. "That ring on your finger…that's supposed to protect you…that was my father's right?"

"Yeah." Despite his acts, John was still human. Despite his cruel deeds, Jeremy's father was still his brother who had passed away.

"Then why didn't it protect him. Why is he still dead?" asked Jeremy. He wasn't understanding life - why someone like John was allowed to live, when someone like his father wasn't. It just wasn't right.

"What happened to your parents wasn't supernatural, it was an accident. There's nothing that can save us from that." John grabbed Jeremy's shoulders and looked him the eye. "It was their time, and there's nothing you, nor I or this ring, could have done to stop it."

"I wonder what he'd think of all this – of me." Jeremy looked to the floor. He was spiraling, and he knew it. If it weren't for Elena, he probably would have hit the bottom months ago. If it hadn't been for Damon….he'd probably be long gone.

"He'd think that you're still young, still finding yourself. But you are a Gilbert, and you've been exposed to this town's darkest secret, and with that comes responsibility."

"I don't believe in that family legacy stuff."

"Sooner or later you'll have to." John looked at the ring on his finger, and then to his nephew. "Here, this was your father's, and it's rightfully yours. I'm leaving Mystic Falls, and…probably never coming back. You deserve this much more than me." He took the ring off and offered it to his nephew. "One day, you'll know what's right, and you'll know what you have to do in order to protect your family." John zipped up his bag, and patted Jeremy on the back.

Jeremy stood there, staring at the ring as he heard the door behind him click.

* * *

As Jeremy was pulling on his pants to go to bed, he heard Elena and Stefan in the other room. He couldn't help but feel happy for his sister, she deserved to be happy. However, didn't he? Shouldn't he be granted the same happiness?

The voices started to become louder, and Jeremy strained his ears to listen. That wasn't Stefan. It almost sounded like … frantic yelling? He went to go see what was going on.

Elena attempted, once more, to push Damon away. _Why was he doing this_, she asked herself. "Damon, I care about you, I do, but I love Stefan. It's always gonna be Stefan." Tears were starting to well in her eyes as she said these words. A part of her did love Damon, but certainly not in the way he wanted her.

"Elena, what's going on in here?" Jeremy asked, making his way into the room. Something was not right.

"Nothing Jeremy. It's okay, j-just go back to bed." Elena pleaded.

"No, it's not okay, Elena." He ran to Jeremy, pressing him against the wall. "He wants to be a vampire." Jeremy gasped as Damon's hand claimed his throat. It was then that he saw the pain in Damon's eyes, almost like the pain he had been feeling ever since his parents had passed away.

"No, Damon! Stop it!" Elena cried. "Don't do this!" She was helpless, and she knew it. Damon was seconds from blowing his fuse, and there wasn't a damned thing that she alone could do to stop him.

"You wanna shut off the pain? It's the easiest thing in the world!" Damon couldn't think straight. First Katherine had all but staked him in the heart by telling him that she felt nothing for him, and now Elena was doing the very same thing. Clearly there was something wrong with him, and if that was true through the eyes of both women, he might as well play the part.

Jeremy looked at him apologetically. Damon raged on, "The part of you that cares, just goes away. All you have to do is just flip the switch and –

"It's okay," Jeremy whispered loud enough for Damon, alone, to hear.

"SNAP!" Jeremy fell to the floor.

"NO!" Elena cried! She collapsed and crawled over to her brother pulling him in. Damon gazed at the body, and then to Elena. _I lost her_, he thought. _No, I never had her_. He tried to ignore what just happened, tried to turn it off, but he couldn't. He couldn't do anything. He caused this. _But why did he say it was okay? Clearly there's nothing okay by what just happened. _

Damon left, unable to further witness what he had done.

Immediately after Damon's departure, Elena reached for her cell phone and dialed Stefan's number. This cannot be happening, she thought as she listened to the dial. She cradled her brother's limp body.

"Hello?" asked Stefan. Elena couldn't say anything. "Elena? What's going on?"

"Damon…Jeremy…" Elena managed. "Help."

"I'll be right there." He replied.

Elena dropped the phone and sobbed. Suddenly a glint from the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was the same ring Alaric had. Her spirits rose and she held her brother closer_. Thank God_, she thought. Seconds later, the front door opened and Stefan was beside her.

"Elena," he began, "are you okay?" Elena motioned to the ring. She attempted to move her lips to form a smile to let him know that she was relieved, but she couldn't. Damon had tried to kill her brother.

"He saw the ring, that's why he did it. He knew." said Stefan.

"He didn't see it." retorted Elena. Vampire or not, he couldn't have known that Jeremy had the ring. _He killed Jeremy to hurt me._

Stefan stood and began to pace. "It's Katherine. She got under his skin and undid everything good about him." He justified. "Damon wouldn't have done this if it were not for her. He wouldn't have done this to you."

She couldn't help but ignore him. "There's nothing good about him, Stefan. Not anymore. He's' decided what he wants. He just wanted feeling, he wants to be hated. It's just easier that way. Well, he got his wish." She held on to Jeremy and rested her head on his. "I hate him Stefan."

Stefan looked down. Katherine had to be stopped; she has worn out her welcome. Suddenly, Jeremy gasped as he woke up.

Elena released her hold on her brother and started to panic. "Is he okay? Is he okay?"

Stefan knelt down and grabbed Jeremy for the second time that week. "He's okay. Shhh." Stefan looked Jeremy up and down.

"D-Damon! Damon killed me!" He touched his neck; it wasn't broken. He was alive. Twice this week, he had cheated death.

"Oh God!" Elena cried pulling her brother from Stefan and hugging him again.

Stefan watched as Elena held on to her brother. "You're going to be okay."

"Elena…breathing…I need to." Jeremy gasped as her hugging had evolved into mild choking.

"Sorry," she hiccupped and wiped away a stray tear. "I'm just – I'm just glad you're okay."

_I am okay_, he thought. He may have lost the girl he cared for, but he was going to be okay. However, it was Damon who needed a friend. The thought of the vampire brought back that funny feeling from before, and Jeremy realized that by 'taking his life', Damon had given it new meaning.

He could be happy. He could love. But first, he had to help others realize that too.

**AN: So, hopefully, that'll be the most canon from the show that I have to use, and I'm certain I won't have to rely on it too heavily from here on out. **

**If you've made it this far, congrats, and thank you! I should have more posted within the coming week. Until then!**

**-Tfulghum**


	2. Chapter Two: Chasm

**Memento Mori**

**AN: For those returning, yay. For those new, double yay. Enjoy.**

**Also, I think it should be noted that a review is like crack to a writer: the more we get, the happier we are, thus giving us more reason to write; true story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the show, yada, yada; wish I did.**

**Chapter Two "Chasm"**

Damon poured the liquor into the crystalline glass, filling it to the rim. His eyes were cold as he gazed at nothingness. Bringing the glass to his lips he paused. Katherine didn't want him. She had never wanted him. He took a sip, and then another. It wasn't the best liquor in the world, but then again neither was he. Not even Elena wanted him.

"RARGH!" he shouted tossing the glass across the room. The shattered pieces gleamed as the sunlight cascaded through the library and danced across each cut. _What is wrong with me?_

Things had been perfectly fine until Katherine had arrived, and now…now they were everything but. 145 years of searching for her, of loving her, of wanting her –

The glass crackled under a foreign footstep. Not looking up, Damon asked "Why are you here?"

"Sorry," he looked down at the glass, "I just wanted to see-"

"Do you have a death wish?" his teeth ground together, his anger escalating.

"Well, no, not anymore at least." Jeremy replied. "I guess I have you to thank for that."

"No, when I hit the rewind on my magical replay I saw me snapping your neck; I didn't see me telling you that you had something to live for and that you were special." Damon pointed on the ring on Jeremy's finger, "And, clearly that little gem had something to do with it."

He looked down at his ring. It was true that it brought him back to life, but what the vampire didn't understand was that his almost-death was just another step into the right direction. Damon wouldn't understand much like Jeremy wouldn't be able to explain it.

"Look, I just wanted to see if you were all right –"

"Did you not catch the memo," Damon rushed over to Jeremy throwing him against the wall, "that I'm a vampire? I'm pretty sure the tags read 'urgent', 'red alert', 'blood sucker'? No?"

"If you really wanted to –"

"I already did in case you haven't _already_ forgotten." He grabbed Jeremy's throat like he had just days before. "Did it kind of like this too. I pinned you against the wall like this. I held your throat in my hand like this." Damon moved closer and whispered in Jeremy's ear, "You know I could rip your throat right now?"

Jeremy wasn't scared; so long as he had the ring, he'd be perfectly fine. "You won't kill me." He said confidently. He wasn't scared, not at all, but for some reason, his heart pounded like an 808.

"No, I can't kill you. _Can't_ being the operative word." Damon looked the younger man dead in the eye, "Just because you're wearing that ring doesn't mean I can't just snap your neck over and over again without –"

"I know about Katherine." He spat out – something to further their conversation. Damon's body against his felt good, right_. But why?_ Didn't Damon try to murder him? Didn't Damon want Elena?

Damon turned his head. He'd been caught off guard. "You don't know what you're talking about." Whispered Damon, his voice lacking the stoicism and strength it held just moments before.

Being this close to the vampire brought Jeremy's off-feeling back; however, this time it was laced with…adrenaline? Something about dancing on the line of life and death made him feel in control, despite this, the vampire's own prowess certainly wasn't to be forgotten –

Damon released his grip, "Get out. Don't come here again."

"But-"

"This isn't the shelter for wayward teens, and I'm certainly no Buffy Summers looking to help you." Replied Damon, icily.

"I know you're a good guy." Said Jeremy, regaining his composure.

"Yep, so good. I'm on Santa's "Nice List". Now, again: leave. I'm running out of cultural references."

Jeremy stared at the vampire, who had now walked away and started pouring another glass. "I'm not a bartender either." And with that, he left.

* * *

Mystic Falls High School filled with students as the educational day began. Halls were littered with teenagers gossiping, goofing off, and marveling at the decorations that adorned the school signaling the upcoming annual carnival.

Despite these festivities, and the shared excitement for upcoming fun, one person in particular could not be bothered. _Damon held me right against the wall, and it was –_

The locker door slammed shut as Elena, clipboard in hand, squeezed herself in front of it. "What were you doing going over to Stefan's yesterday? Why would you even go near Damon after what he did – what he nearly did?"

"Last time I checked, Elena, I was a big boy. I can make my own decisions." He replied. He understood her concern, but it just wasn't something he was willing to fully acknowledge. He didn't quite know what his aim was either; he just knew that…actually, he really didn't. "Besides, don't you have some carnival to plan for, or whatever?"

"Jere – I can't believe that you think some stupid carnival is more important to me than my little bro- I'm not trying to treat you like a child, but he snapped –" she stopped herself midsentence, lowering her voice to a whisper to deter eavesdroppers, "he snapped your neck. He tried to kill you! You can't just walk away from that and then go over to his house the next day!"

"Well, I did. And besides, it's none of your business, Elena. You choose to hang around a vampire, so it should be no big deal that I pay a visit to Damon." He turned to leave, but he wasn't quick enough. Elena grabbed his arm.

"Stefan never snapped my neck!" her voice was raising, "You almost died! I'm trying to look after you!"

He yanked his arm away from her, "I don't need looking after, Elena. Just back off! I've got the ring, I'm good. And, don't worry, the fish things are taken care of. It's gonna be epic."

As she watched him walk away, she fell back against the locker, sinking to the floor. God, what am I going to do with him. If it wasn't already bad enough to have Katherine playing masquerade as HER to all of her friends, possibly jeopardizing their safeties, but now her own brother was bro-stalking the vampire who tried to kill him in spite of her rejection for his love. And now, she had a carnival to deal with.

"If this wasn't an insane episode of a crappy soap…" she said to herself.

"Problem?" a voice asked, warranting her attention: Stefan. He offered his hand to help her up.

"If I said 'no', it wouldn't necessarily be 'a day in the life', now would it?" She accepted his gesture and brushed off the back of her shirt. "I just don't know how to get Jeremy to understand that Damon is dangerous; he shouldn't be over there."

"Not that I'm for this 'bromance' – is that what they're calling it? Anyway, Damon's less hostile today than before, so –"

"Progress, yay. I just don't feel that it's enough. I stood by what I said, Stefan: I hate him. It's not like this is something that happened months ago or even years ago; it happened last week. Wounds are still there." She looked her boyfriend dead in the eye. "I don't want me or mine near him. I don't even want you near him…and you're," she stopped, "you're you."

Walking to their history classroom, she grabbed his hand, gently squeezing it. Stefan pulled her hand up to his and kissed it.

"See, you even know how to cheer me up when I'm freaking out." She smiled. "Maybe, I shouldn't be so harsh on him, but I just – what am I saying? God, I don't know what I'd do if he ever got hurt."

Stefan arched his eyebrow, his eyes alone seemingly saying "Two vampire girlfriends, attempted suicide, and almost-murder."

"For real." She shrugged, justifying herself. She bit her lip in frustration. "I just don't want him getting hurt…again. And, you know the worst part? The little jerk was right: I do have to put together that carnival thing, or Caroline'll have my head." She stopped walking and buried her head in her boyfriend's chest.

He wrapped his arms around her. "I can talk to him?" Stefan suggested. "You've got enough on your plate; let me take care of this. Go be a teenager. Plan a carnival."

She looked up, "Would you, please?" her eyes pleading. He smiled, yes. "Just so you know, me going all carnival-mode means that all of us have to pretend that we live in teenager land; no 'v' word, no trouble, no –"

"Damon?"

"Definitely not on the list of things to talk about. And, besides, in all things teenager, you and I are going to ride the very top of the ferris wheel, and you're going to kiss me, and my heart's going to go all a-flutter."

* * *

Walking home from school probably wasn't the best idea he had had all week, but Jeremy needed time to think. Damon was invading his head, and not in the vampy-compulsion kind of way that Anna had told him about. He just couldn't shake the vampire from his thoughts. _He should be angry at home, right? He killed me_, he thought. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a chuckle. _My life is turning into a freaking Twilight movie, minus the werewolf._

_But wait, that whiny chick was all 'I'll never leave you…I love you long time' to the sparkly dude. I don't love Damon…that's crazy_. Jeremy's own ponderings and questions furthered: Damon was a vampire, but so was Anna. Anna….he hadn't thought about her very much in the past week. _Why was that?_ Was he pining after Damon like some crushing teen? That wasn't him.

Or was it? Ever since Damon had given his neck the kitkat treatment – no, maybe it was before? Damon told me about compelling me to forget.

But that certainly wasn't something that would provoke Jeremy to have feelings, feelings that he had for Anna, for Damon. It just didn't add up.

And, another thing, Jeremy wasn't – he couldn't be – could he? He spotted a bench and sat down, collecting himself. All of this 'soul searching' had worked him up. Why won't he get out of my head? Why is my heart beating so hard I can feel it in my ears?

"What is wrong with me?" he asked aloud.

"What isn't?" A voice responded.

Jeremy turned his attention to his 'answer', Tyler Lockwood. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, seeing as I'm a boy, I have these urges to eat, quite often. And, seeing as the Mystic Grille offers food, billiards, and girls, I have this whole reason for being here." Tyler's smugness had evidently returned since his father's funeral.

"You're so hilarious. Seems you're dickly ways only had but so many sick days left." With all the, dare he say, emotional turmoil he was experiencing, he sure wasn't about to add Tyler Lockwood's juvenile behavior to the list.

"Woah, I was just answering your question." He took a seat. "Besides, it seems that you're the one in the running for Alpha Dick, not me. Not that I really have reason to care or anything, especially seeing as we've never really had a friendship-thing, I kinda feel obligated to ask because you were there for me last week. What's bugging ya?" Tyler adjusted himself, turning toward Jeremy.

"It's not something I really want to talk about." He started. He paused, staring at the ground. Suck it up, Gilbert. If you can't understand it yourself, grab the closest outside source for help. He couldn't confide in Elena, Jenna's reactions to the emotional side alone would be too much to handle, and Anna was dead, leaving Tyler as the closest 'outside source' he could think of. "It's just, weird."

"Weird?" asked Tyler. Jeremy nodded. "You do realize that I am starving, right? I'm taking time out of my day to Dr. Phil you, and all you have is 'weird'?"

Jeremy folded his arms, frustrated. "It's not something I even get. I've just been having these feelings lately, and I don't know what to make of them."

"Okay, time to go." Tyler rose. "Kidding. Being a guy, I'm not really for feeling-talking, but again…exception." He sat back down.

"Well, let's just say, this person I know has been the only thing I've been thinking about for the past week or so. It's just weird. I've never really liked them, and have had absolutely no reason to. They're kinda douchey, and it gets old. I just –"

"Gilbert, I don't want to be your date to Prom."

Jeremy coughed. "What?"

"I don't want to be your date to Prom." Tyler's face held no hint of joke.

"No, I heard that! What! What does that have to do with anything?"

"Clearly you're talking about me: we didn't really get all 'talky' until last week, we don't really like each other all that much, and I'm kinda douche." He smiled at his own deductive skills, but frowned thinking that the smile itself would drive Jeremy into a frenzy.

Jeremy sighed. "I'm not talking about you! Besides, I'm not-"

"Me neither."

The two boys sat in silence so thick that it rivaled death itself. "I feel like you just killed this whole …Dr. Phil moment." Said Jeremy.

"Yeah. Well, on that note, I think it's best that I leave." Tyler rose, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "as for your, er, problem, confront it. If she's all you can think of, go confront her. See what's what. Yeah."

Tyler turned to leave, heading toward to the entrance of the diner. "Thanks!" Jeremy called.

Tyler waved and entered the Mystic Grille.

* * *

As Jeremy's trek home continued, so did his unexplainable thoughts about Damon. At this point, he was too preoccupied thinking to himself, and sometimes out loud, to pay much attention as to where his feet were taking him.

_Damon. Bad. Vampire. Killed me. Guy. Not Girl._ These were the main reasons that the invasion of mind-privacy was all kinds of not cool in Jeremy's book. "Damn, damn, damnity-damn." Said Jeremy, kicking a crushed can. _You'd think for a town as old and prestigious, they'd at least give two shits about keeping it all clean and glorified_, he thought.

Maybe he did like the vampire, not as a friend, but as a person? That could be it. He could just like Damon's personality. He did have some pretty funny quips, and he definitely is charming – no_, that's a quality for someone that you're all likey about_. He kicked the can, klik, klik, klunk. He drew back his foot once more, and stopped. _Huh?_

He looked up. _Damnit to hell. _

He was standing right in front of the Salvatore's lawn. _Nope, just keep walking_. He continued his journey, but stopped once more. _Wait, I should take Tyler's advice – Oh, God. This is serious. I'm taking Tyler's advice._

_I can't move. _Jeremy wanted to eliminate Damon's presence in his mind, if not turn him into a cameo appearance, but he couldn't bring himself to walk up the steps. What would happen if Damon was actually there? What would he say? What would Damon say?

"Yep, I think we're officially crossing into _Twilight_ territory." He walked through the grass, straight to the door; no reason to beat around the bush.

He raised his fist to knock –

Stefan opened the door. "Jeremy?"

"Stefan?"

"Who were you expecting? This is my house." Said Stefan.

"I know – Uh, I just…Ya know? It's nothing – I'll just leave." Jeremy stammered.

"No, wait. Come inside. I need to talk to you." Stefan stepped aside and gestured with his hand, welcoming him in.

Closing the door, Stefan led Jeremy into the library and motioned toward the sofa. "Your sister asked that I talk to you."

"Look, I'm fine! I'm alive. Died, magic ring brought me back, I'm good." He waved his hand, emphasizing the ring.

"And, to be honest, you're lucky to even be waving that ring around." He cleared his throat. "I just want you to remember what we talked about and just try not to do anything stupid."

"I'm not –"

"You came over here yesterday? And, I from what I witnessed Damon wasn't exactly the welcoming host."

"You saw?" asked Jeremy. He hadn't even noticed that Stefan was there, but then again he wasn't vampire; he was just a kid, just Jeremy.

"Damon knew that I was there, or else he may have tried something. You can't always count on me to be standing in the shadows, Jeremy." Stefan withdrew an item from his pocket. "Take this. It's the same as the bracelet Elena gave you."

"To protect me from compulsion." Jeremy stared at the bracelet, now resting in his palm.

Stefan crossed his arms and leaned against the arm of the sofa. "Vervain is toxic to vampires."

"Like poison?" Jeremy looked up, intrigued.

"Yeah. It's very poisonous; it'll keep them out of your head." He tapped his own forehead, and pointed at Jeremy.

"But why vervain?" asked Jeremy, returning his attention to the vervain bracelet. He sniffed it; it didn't smell like anything out of the ordinary.

"I dunno. A certain natural herbs and roots that are just harmful to vampires."

"Like a stake to the heart?"

"Right, but it has to be wood."

Jeremy looked at Stefan, "You're pretty confident in yourself telling me all the different ways that I could kill you.

Stefan smiled. "Jeremy, if I thought you wanted to kill me we'd be having a much different conversation."

"Yeah, Damon is…the one that deserves it." Maybe then he'd be out of my head. Well, at least with this vervain stuff, he definitely will be. This realization seemed to lift a weight within Jeremy, however, deep down, he knew that vervain wouldn't solve his apparent obsession with the dangerous vampire.

"I want you to forget about Damon, alright? He's a hundred times stronger than you and right now he's not stable." Said Stefan, stressing the severity of the situation at hand. Stefan didn't want Jeremy around Damon any less than Elena did.

"That's the thing though, I can't get him out of my head." Said Jeremy, still staring at the bracelet.

"What?"

The question brought him back to reality. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Is there something you want to talk about?" asked Stefan.

"Nah, I'm good. I should probably get home anyway. Wouldn't want Elena to worry, right?" said Jeremy. He gathered his things and rose from the sofa, "Thanks, by the way."

Stefan smiled, still confused by what Jeremy had just confessed. What was that about? Jeremy exited the library and Stefan listened as he heard him walk through the house, eventually reaching the door.

As soon as the door closed, Stefan felt another presence. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Oh, just enough to realize that the kid clearly fell harder than me just pulling the plug on his life." Damon smirked, walking around Stefan. He plopped down on the couch and rested his arms behind his head. "He's fawwen head over heels for me." He smiled mockingly.

"You don't –"

Damon sat up and looked down, mirroring Jeremy's actions and words. "That's the thing though, I can't get him out of my head." He returned to his more comfortable position, "See what I did there? I copied exactly what he did and said for dramatic effect. Woo. I could be on TV."

"Damon, I think it's –"

"No, Stefan. I think you need to back off." He stood up. "I like this: you walking on eggshells around me 'cause you think I'm going to explode. It's very suspenseful." He smiled at the thought. "Is Elena worried too? I bet I'm your every conversation."

"Have you heard from Katherine?" Stefan asked; he knew that would knock his brother down a peg or two.

"I think you're just jealous," Damon started, trying to keep his cool. "You don't have your own little schoolboy crush-thing going on. It's so very contemporary. Hell, if I went that way, I'd probably even say it was cute." He shrugged. "Oh well, I suppose. Also, I think Mason Lockwood's a werewolf, or something supernatural-like."

"Katherine hasn't left; she's going to come back." Said Stefan, trying to keep her as their discussion.

"Now see, I think you need to move on. I know I have." Damon declared, leaving the house.

* * *

Two days had passed, and the celebrations had finally arrived. The carnival was a success! Not only was the entire town present, but everyone was having fun. People were laughing, smiling, competing. Nothing supernatural, no vampires, no Katherine. Everything was normal.

Stefan had relayed to Elena Damon's suspicions about the Lockwoods, but of course Elena wanted nothing of it. "Tonight is Teenage Land." She had said.

Bonnie and Elena talked, relishing in their surprising success without the leadership of the socially driven Caroline. Stefan watched Mason Lockwood win every arm wrestling competition, defeating each and every opponent that dared to oppose him. Maybe Damon was right, maybe there was something supernatural about Mason, thought Stefan.

All in all, everybody was having fun – everyone except for Jeremy. Carnivals weren't really his thing, especially now. Too much had happened recently to really get him in the peppy, circusy mood. He handed the money to the cashier and took the popcorn. "Thanks." He turned around and saw the man that had crept into his every waking thought for the last ten days.

"Jeremy! So good to see you alive." Damon exclaimed throwing his arms up in pretend joy.

_Play it cool, Gilbert_. "Aren't you a little old for a high school carnival?" he smirked and stared, waiting for Damon's response.

"150 years too old." Sighed Damon, a smile escaping him. He grabbed a couple of pieces of popcorn from Jeremy's bag and popped them into his mouth.

He leaned against the food stand, "You're pretty funny cracking jokes when I could, I don't know, blow the whole lid off this thing by telling someone what you really are." He waved the ring, making sure Damon took note of how serious he was.

"So, please tell me that that is not a threat." Said Damon. He smiled.

"Maybe it is." Jeremy returned the smile, smug for smug.

"Oh." Damon grabbed Jeremy by the scruff of his neck, and swiftly wrapped him in a headlock. Jeremy gasped for breath as the vampire gripped his throat. "This is what we're not gonna do: we're not going to walk around like we're invisible when it's this easy for me to end you."

Damon released his grip and pushed Jeremy away. Jeremy doubled over, gasping for breath. "If you wanna tell people what I really am, go ahead and try. I will shove this ring so far up your ass, you'll really have something to choke on." Threatened Damon, throwing the ring at Jeremy's forehead. "And, the little crush thing. I applaud you for your differences, and want you to know that I accept and support you fully."

Jeremy rubbed his temple, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how you can't get enough of me. I'm the object of your affection. You can't stop thinking about me!"

"That's not –"

"Not what? Not true? Because, I have it on good word that it is." Damon laughed.

"From who?" Nobody knew. How could he know that he plagued Jeremy's every thought.

"Well, you of course, silly." Said Damon. He wrapped his arm around Jeremey and tousled his hair with the other hand. "It's kinda cute, actually."

"It's not true." Said Jeremy. "That's not why you've..." Jeremy paused. He couldn't finish the sentence; he didn't know how to finish the sentence.

"I've? Been your little sparkling Edward Cullen? Which, hey, is actually kind of funny in this scenario." Jeremy broke away from the vampire and began walking off.

"Get it? Because he sparkles and gay guys love that dollar sign girl and glitter?" Damon followed the younger man, and grabbed his arm. "Hey, don't get all teenager and pissy."

"Why not! You won't leave me alone!" Jeremy shouted.

A few people looked at the two men, and Damon shook his head. Returning to Jeremy, he said, "I definitely stopped at the neck thing. In all reality, you're the one who won't leave ME alone. You came to my house, twice. And, you talked to my brother. I mean seriously? My brother? Does Elena even know that you want a lil' me in your life?" he chuckled.

"It's not funny." Jeremy paused. "You've been my every thought ever since you told me that you compelled me to forget."

"Well, in that case, I'll just compel you to forget this. It's getting a little too crazo-stalker for my liking anyhow."

"That's not going to do anything." Jeremy looked down. " I think…Damon, I think I li-"

"Whoa, buddy! You stop yourself right there!" Damon backed away. "I don't do relationships, I don't do humans, and I definitely don't do my own gender, for that matter."

"And you think I do?" Jeremy asked. His heart was beating full force now, his head pounding. "I don't understand what's going on!" His eyes brimmed with tears. "I want you out of my head, and I don't know why you're there! Just get out!"

"Look, this is getting a little too real for my liking, but…" he paused and moved closer. "I mean it, it's cute. But, I'm not, you know…and to be honest, you don't really seem to be. Now, as for the whole 'I'm in your head thing', that should probably go away. I know, you can take your sister's advice and stay away from me!"

"I don't think I want to." Said Jeremy, closing his eyes in attempt to hide his emotion.

Damon placed his hands on Jeremy's shoulders and whispered, "Even if I were into that kind of hokey-pokey, I'm all kinds of wrong for you, kiddo. I'm being serious, no sardonicisms. Besides, it's –"

"My sister." He looked Damon in the eye. "I'm probably the closest you'll get to her."

"Probably."

"You don't even realize it, but you gave me a reason for living." Said Jeremy.

"Really? I _killed_ you?" asked Damon, in complete disbelief. He thought back to that night, "Why did you say it was okay? You didn't struggle; didn't even try to break free. You just went with it."

"I knew it would be. You're a lot like me, no matter how much you try to deny it: you care about people."

"Bah. That's not true."

"It is, and regardless of what you say or do, I think, I think I care about you."

"Aw, now give us a hug," said Damon spreading his arms, reversing back to his comedic ways.

Jeremy swallowed his words, and stared at the vampire. He turned around, and walked away.

"Well, I can definitely attest that that was a first." Said Damon.

* * *

Damon walked through the dark halls of Mystic Falls High School. This was certainly not his night. First, Jeremy got all gooey on him, then Stefan stepped all over his revealing-Mason-Lockwood's-identity plan, and now his mood was just plummeting to rock bottom. To say things couldn't get worse was an understatement. There's just too much humanity going around tonight, he thought. Another set of footsteps echoed behind him.

Turning around, he saw Caroline, "Well, hey blondie. They let you out?" He smiled and continued walking.

"I remember." Said Caroline. Damon paused.

"What do you remember?"

"I remember how you manipulated me." She took two steps closer. "You pushed me around, abused me, erased my memories. Fed on me." Her anger amplified as the transition continued.

"You're crazy." Damon turned around once more.

"Well, the memories have been coming back. In pieces."

No, "You can't remember. It's impossible. I mean, unless you were…becoming –" Oh, shit.

Caroline closed the gap between them "I have a message from Katherine. She said 'Game on.'" It was her turn to walk away, but Damon grabbed her arm.

"Wait –" Using her new strength, she threw him to the ground as if he were a dime.

"You suck." She spat, strutting away, finally asserting herself.

"Well, this certainly is all kinds of not good." He said aloud as he stared at the doorway Caroline had just exited from. He picked himself up and brushed the dirt off of his pants.

_I suck_, he thought. _Well, I guess I kinda do_.

* * *

Hours passed, the carnival ended, friends fought, and Damon was still left with a nagging feeling. Despite almost killing Caroline, pissing off Elena further, and the whole Bonnie thing in general, Damon wasn't at all bothered by any of it. It was the conversation with Jeremy that really bothered him. And, despite much protest on his own part as well as emotional-turn-offing, Damon couldn't help but admit that there was something about the younger man that he liked.

Maybe it was because he was the closest thing that he would get to Elena, or maybe it was Jeremy's own qualities. Unlike most of the town, he was one of the friendlier types, in regards to vampires. He wasn't a complete punk….

_Why am I thinking these things? No, off, off, off. I don't – No!_

He picked up a glass and poured himself alcohol. There was somebody else in the room. _Jeremy_. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You don't lock your front door." Said Jeremy, his hood covering his eyes.

"Yeah." This day would not end. _Oh, sweet alcohol, drown my sorrows. And maybe the kid_. He brought the glass to his lips.

"I wouldn't – I laced it with vervain."

Damon smelled the vervain. _Punk_. He set the glass down. "Now, why would you do that?"

"So I could stake you." Said Jeremy. "With this." He showed his own handmade stake, and then tossed it to the floor: a white flag.

Trying to suppress his laughter, he said, "You came here to kill me?" Damon was half puzzled, and half amused.

"It's only fair, you killed me first." Said Jeremy, removing his hood. His gaze returned, once more to the floor.

"What made you wisen up?" asked Damon, retrieving the stake and moving to the couch. "Didn't want to commit a crime of passion?"

"Dick." Said Jeremy. He rose and got up to leave.

"Wait!" Jeremy paused, giving Damon his attention.

"Look, I'm not good at this big brother thing, or in your case, mmm lover…I suck." Said Damon. Jeremy folded his arms. "I've been around for 150 years, and I've spent all of my immortality searching for Katherine, only to find out that I was just a pit stop to Stefan. Then, the same thing happens with your sister. I'm not good with people, they suck too, but not in the way I suck." He paused, collecting his thoughts. "I'm kind of eccentric. And, I did mean it earlier when I said that I thought it was cute…about your little crush." He looked at the stake, "Did you do this? The widdling, I mean."

"Yeah, I tried." He smiled. It's probably the first time he's actually smiled in a while, Damon thought. It's beautiful. "It's not as easy as it looks."

Damon stood up and crossed over to Jeremy. "Nothing's easy. Ever." He fiddled with the stake, eventually tossing it across the room. "Look, I'm not gay."

"Neither am I." replied Jeremy. "I don't like guys. I just…I like you." His voice softened.

"I'm flattered. I am…" Damon locked eyes with Jeremy. "It's just…"

The two closed the distance between them. Damon gently grabbed the back of Jeremy's head and pulled him in; Damon pressed his lips against Jeremy's. Jeremy ran his hand through Damon's hair and pressed into him. The older man firmly squeezed Jeremy's butt as his tongue entered the younger man's mouth. Both tongues struggled for dominance, but Damon won in the end.

He let out a chuckle.

The crystalline pieces from days before, still there, reflected the two finding solace in one another.

**

* * *

**

**AN: So, I partly fibbed about the canon-borrowing. One scene was kind necessary 'cause it built on an earlier one in the chapter, and then the other just fit. And, I kind of went beaucoup d' crazy with taking the focus off of Jeremy and Damon, all the while keeping it on them. Ooo, magic. Drop a comment, and do return: I promise nothing but fun. I was trying to hold off on posting this until I had finished, much less started chapter 3, but I figured this would give me motivation. See y'all later.**

**-TFulghum**


	3. Chapter Three: Again

**Memento Mori**

**AN: For those returning, after an incredibly unexpected wait, score; for the newbs, welcome! Also, I should probably be all Parental Warningy: people have sex. If that offends you, in any way shape or form, I apologize.**

**Disclaimer: Bladdy-blah; I don't own "The Vampire Diaries".**

**

* * *

Chapter Three "Again"**

Birds chirped outside as the sun rose, eclipsing the various hills and occasional mountainsides. The paperboy made his way down the long streets dutifully tossing paper after paper, ensuring each household would be well informed of current events. Stairs creaked, glasses were poured, and –

"Get up." Said Damon, groggily. He turned onto his side and aimlessly let his arm fall, repeatedly, on the body next to him.

"Nnn," moaned Jeremy, "what time is it?" He emerged from underneath the safety of the covers.

"It's time for you to get up." Repeated Damon.

"I really don't want to," started Jeremy, "I'm comfy, and you're there, and we can…" He scooted closer to Damon, placing a hand on the man's bare chest, and then slowly trailing down with his finger.

A chuckle escaped the vampire, as a smirk danced across his face, "As much as I enjoy some good ol' debauchery, you have that school thing. And, I'm pretty sure you didn't post all over your Facepage that you were at _Damon's getting his freak on_."

Jeremy's hand had worked its way under the covers. "For one, nobody knows I'm here, and for two, it's called _facebook_." Jeremy smiled. _This, this is nice_, he thought. He closed the remaining distance between them and brushed his lips against Damon's.

Damon returned the gesture and buried his hand in Jeremy's hair, claiming a fistful. He teased Jeremy's tongue, furthering their embrace. Jeremy's hand continued its purpose; a moan escaped Damon. Jeremy chuckled, "I take it you're enjoying this?"

"If I weren't you certainly wouldn't be here, now would you?" replied Damon with his trademark smirk. He returned his lips to Jeremy's, and swiftly switched positions. He positioned himself above the younger man, taking control. Lowering his head, he placed his lips on Jeremy's neck, and began trailing upwards to his mouth.

The two kissed zealously as the world around them seemingly disappeared. Damon smiled through the kiss and chuckled, "It's cute that you think you're getting on top."

Jeremy struggled to regain his dominance, but Damon wasn't having any of it. "Really?" asked Jeremy.

"Really," smiled Damon. He noticed the younger man's neck was bare, and continued kissing it once more.

"Mmm," moaned Jeremy. Damon began trailing kisses along his neck moving down to his collarbone. _This isn't weird_, thought Damon, _at all_. He then began giving attention to the other side of Jeremy's neck. They were both men, and usually that was a big turnoff for the vampire, but something about Jeremy made that factoid seemingly nonexistent.

Jeremy liked what was happening, he liked it a lot. However, he enjoyed the kissing a hell of a lot more. He wiggled one of his hands loose, placing it against Damon's cheek. He guided him back to his lips, continuing the fight for overall dominance. Damon bit Jeremy's lip, hard enough not to draw blood.

Downstairs, the front door opened. Stefan.

Damon pulled away, moving to the other side of the bed entirely. "You really need to go."

"But why?" asked Jeremy. He touched his lip, "Why can't I stay?"

"Look, we were just having fun. Stefan's home. Fun's over." Answered the older man.

"Oh."

"Oh?" asked Damon. "What...what did you think this was?"

"I don't –"

"Because it's just… this isn't a relationship. I mean, at best it's a _thing_, but really it's not even that either."

Jeremy looked away, ashamed. "Yeah, I should probably go. I have school and Elena's probably…yeah." He grabbed what clothes of his he could find and put them on. He struggled with his belt, "Damn."

Damon tugged at the cover and wrapped it around his waist, making his way toward Jeremy. "Look," he placed his hand on Jeremy's cheek, "I like you, but not in the way you probably want me to." He tried making eye contact, but Jeremy was determined to avoid it.

"No, you're right. This, this is just a … it didn't even happen –"

"Hey, I didn't say that!" Damon declared. "I enjoyed it. Hell, I didn't even know that vampires could do that. What with the whole blood rushing and all; I wasn't even sure I'd be able to refrain from biting your –"

"It didn't happen." Said Jeremy, though it killed him a little to say it for the second time. He moved away to grab his shirt that was hanging off of the chair. "I'm just going to go to school and pretend none of this happened."

"Woah, buddy. You're missing the point. I'm not disgusted by what we did." Said Damon. "I just don't think it's best that we get all tabloid about it. They're still talking about that Hester Prynne." He laughed at his own joke; Jeremy didn't. "We just have to be on the same page."

Pulling the shirt over his head, "We're not even reading the same book, Damon."

_Why is he acting like this?_ Damon mused. _I tried being delicate with this._ He didn't know what to say to get Jeremy to see where he was coming from, to even look at him. Damon grabbed Jeremy's arm, pulling him closer. "I'm not saying that we should pretend this didn't happen, because it did. Three times."

Despite his newly building hurt, he smiled. "Vampire sex is pretty boss." Damon went to meet Jeremy's lips as an attempt to cheer him up, but the younger man pulled away.

"No…" said Jeremy. "If you kiss me, I'm going to think that there's substance in this, and there isn't. You've made that perfectly clear." He grabbed his jacket, hanging on the doorknob. His voice softened, audible enough only for Damon's ears, "I'll see you later, I guess."

Damon looked down, "Yeah."

Jeremy left.

* * *

Outside of Elena's house, Damon pondered about the events that had transpired that morning as he waited for Elena and Alaric in the car. He had tried to handle things with Jeremy gently, but he wasn't going to be able to give him what he wanted: a relationship.

Damon was certainly not the kind of vampire who would ever date another man, much less love him. Besides, it was Katherine he wanted before, and Elena he wanted now. Wasn't it? They had both rejected him, and not in the subtle way he had tried brushing off Jeremy. But, that was the thing. He was doing to Jeremy what Katherine had done to him. _No_, he thought. _I'm making it clear. I'm drawing the lines on this._

_I've been around for closing in on two centuries, give or take a handful of decades, and for some reason I'm getting all gushy over a punk teenager?_ This wasn't Damon. He was a vampire; a ruthless, coldblooded vampire that maimed and killed, bleed and fed. Love certainly wasn't for him. Not at all.

"Gah!" he exclaimed, punching the side of the car. _What. In. The. Hell. _

The trip would help him to take his mind off of Jeremy. This is just what he needed. He'd not only be able to get a leg up on the Lockwoods by outing them as werewolves, but he'd be able to spend time with Elena, something that would certainly piss his brother's off. Yes, this was just what he needed to help him ignore the events from just hours before. _I wonder what he's up to right –_

He honked the horn, impatiently. "It's time to go," he said once more. Getting out of the car, he shook his body trying to 'shake away' his thoughts. _Nope, still thinking about the punk. _

He leaned against the car as Elena and Stefan approached. "Sorry you can't come too, Stef," he said with a smile_. Maybe if I just try to act normal, I'll be able to push the thoughts out for a while. _He added an exaggerated pout to make it seem more _him_.

Elena tossed her bag in the backseat and glared at Damon. She was in no way, shape or form ready to forgive him, much less ready to spend countless hours with him. She was doing this to find out the connection between her and Katherine. However, something was off about Damon. He didn't seem as arroganty as per usual. _Weird_, she thought.

Ignoring Damon, Stefan smiled to Elena, "I'll be helping Caroline get a handle over her urges, so that'll probably keep me busy, but call me if you need anything."

"Oh, I'll take really good care of her." He winked. _I_ _should be able to keep this up all day_, he thought. He thought it really was a shame that Stefan wasn't able to join them. At least then he'd be able to focus his attention on annoying his brother all the while pushing _him_ from his mind.

_Two can play that game_, Elena thought. She grabbed Stefan's neck, pulling him in and uniting their lips; she turned ensuring that Damon would see every glorious second of her loving gesture to her boyfriend.

However, much to her unknown dismay, her kissing Stefan didn't bother Damon in the slightest. Well, it did, but not in the way she was hoping for. _Wait_, he thought, _she's kissing him. Why am I not bothered?_ He turned away in frustration, his brow furrowing. _This is making all kinds of not-sense._ He thought back to that morning as he and Jeremy were just inches apart, kissing, hands roaming freely. Oh, how he wanted to go back to that morning, just before it all went to hell. Stefan and Elena's kiss brought Damon back to reality as the smacking echoed in his own ears as deafening blows to his eardrums. "Ok, time to go."

He was beginning to regret saying that to Jeremy.

Damon got into the car, closing the door behind him. Seconds later, Elena and Alaric followed suit. Alaric started the car up and drove away. They were off; a daylong adventure of discoveries awaiting them.

"You and my brother are like a dead bunny on the side of the road; it's cute because it's a bunny, but gross because it's dead." Said Damon trying to strike up some conversation.

"Can you not talk?" asked Elena. _What is his deal today?_ She knew he was still probably hurt about letting him down, but enough was enough. She was with Stefan; nothing was going to change that. He needed to realize that.

"Sheesh," he said, "getting all…yeah…fine." He rested his head against the window, gazing at the scenery. It was going to be a long, long day.

_

* * *

Two Weeks Prior…_

"_Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was gifted with beauty. However, she also possessed great knowledge. Her peers were all attracted to her, but she would have none of it. She forever strayed to the sidelines due to her insight, thus losing out on many personal interactions._

"_Many moons later, she finally met someone on par with her wit, her wisdom. But alas, he was one hundred years her senior; he was unnatural to the world she had inhabited for so long. _

"_He was a vampire. A vampire that spark –"_

_Jeremy interrupted, "Are you really trying to tell me the plot to Twilight? Seriously?"_

"_Hey, you're the one creeping on my life. I didn't invite you over. Hell, you've been here all night!" exclaimed Damon. Last night was certainly out of the ordinary. He didn't know how to describe the kiss that transpired, much less explain why he enjoyed it._

"_Well, you never told me to leave, so I just assumed –"_

"_I'd certainly be able to come up with something better then boy meets girl, boy's brother tries to kill, family flees, girl gets depressed, girl tries to kill herself, boy comes back, they get married, and there's a werewolf. Like, really? The crap people come up with these days." Interrupted Damon, placing the alcohol back in its proper place on the bar._

_From the couch the younger man pondered Damon's story. Jeremy's brow furrowed. "You realize we're two seconds from being a living spinoff series, right?"_

"_You shut your mortal mouth!" glared Damon. "I will not be associated with vampires that glitter! Do you realize that that's one of the reasons we're able to go out in sunlight? Teenagers these days are dumb."_

"_I'm not." _

"_No, you're not." Smiled Damon. "It's why I tolerate you."_

_A smirk escaped Jeremy. "Tolerating? That's what you call last night?"_

_Glass in hand, Damon pointed to the boy, "You kissed me. And, while we're on the subject of your generation, shouldn't you be saying 'No Homo' right about now? Wouldn't want anyone to think you're into boys."_

"_Just you." Replied Jeremy._

_Damon sat down adjacent to him, "But why me? Can't you go like some vampire who is – I don't know – into the whole …you liking them thing? I'm all about the ladies and –"_

"_That's not what I was getting from your tongue last night." Jeremy said smugly, emulating Damon._

"_Oh, you're cute. Real cute." He smirked._

"_I'm not asking you for anything." Said Jeremy. He meant it. Jeremy certainly wasn't able to explain why he felt for the vampire, and he sure wasn't going to start making demands. "I'm just saying, maybe we can see how things unfold?"_

"_You mean how this unfolds?" Jeremy nodded._

_The two men held eye contact, from across the couch. Neither spoke aloud, but they understood what the other was thinking. _

"_Maybe we can give it a trial run. Have a little fun, even?" Said Damon._

_Jeremy smiled, "And, we don't even have to, you know, tell anyone."_

"_No feelings, though. That mucks everything up. It's just you, and me…having some fun. Can you handle that?" asked Damon. He didn't want to lead Jeremy on. He wanted the guidelines to this affair to be firm and clear._

"_Yeah. I can handle that." Replied Jeremy, immediately. He didn't care what the prerequisites were so long as he could spend time with the older man._

_Damon set his glass on the floor and filled the distance between him and Jeremy. Jeremy scooted down on the couch as Damon positioned himself on top; their lips met. Damon pressed into Jeremy as the younger man quickly found the other's rear; he gently squeezed Damon, and then again, more fiercely the second time. A chuckle escaped Damon, his arm snaking underneath Jeremy, finding the small of his back to pull him in further._

* * *

Jeremy clutched at the covers and yanked them over his head_. That vampire turnoff switch doesn't sound all that bad right now_, he thought. He curled up underneath the security of his blanket and hid from the world. He knew that nothing was ever going to come out of – whatever he and Damon were doing – but despite the prior knowledge, he still felt terrible. No, he felt like shit.

He heard a knock gently rap against the door, but he remained motionless. _Maybe if I don't say anything,_ _they'll leave._

_Knock, knock, knock. _

_Or not_, he thought.

Jenna cracked the door open, "Hey, you do know that you've got to go to school, right?"

Nothing.

Jenna pushed the door open the rest of the way, making her way to the foot of his bed. "Hey, kiddo. What's wrong?" He'd been extremely quiet these past few days, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Nothing, Jenna. Just…just go." Whispered Jeremy.

She frowned, and her brow furrowed. "C'mon, what's wrong? You were sorta fine a few weeks ago, and now…we're back to square one? Talk to me."

"I really don't want to talk about it. Besides, it's a guy thing."

She scoffed, "Oh don't give me that! Clearly you don't know just how many guys I've slept with." She stopped and frowned. "Maybe I should've ended that one differently. Anywho, I know guys." Remaining on the edge of the bed, she scooted closer and poked his foot. "Come on. Spill."

"It's not –"

"I'm not signing you an absent note unless you tell." She said confidently, knowing that that would at least warrant some excuse, legitimate or not.

"Well, I'm not coming out." Said Jeremy, still underneath the blanket.

"No one's asking you to. I just want to hear the reasoning behind this hiding madness!" she said, throwing her arms up in the air in exaggeration.

"I really don't know how to explain it." Said Jeremy. He wasn't sure if he should tell Jenna what was really going on, let alone if he could. Jeremy didn't want Jenna to know about vampires, and he certainly wasn't going to be the one to burst that bubble for her.

"Well, usually when one is burdened, they begin at the source…of their burden." Said Jenna. "Oh, don't I sound so psychology-y."

He let out a chuckle, "I don't think you're helping yourself, or your profession, by adding a 'y' to it."

She shook her head, "Probably not. But, hey! You're laughing at me! Progress! How does that make you feel?"

"Like shit. I feel like shit."

"So tell me what's bugging you. I don't like you being up here all under-the-cover-like. Honest to God, and don't tell your parents I'm saying this, but I kinda prefer the drug usage over this. At least then I knew you were…expressing yourself?" she sighed.

"Promise you won't, y'know, judge me or anything?" he asked.

"Cross my heart and hope to sit through another one of those ridiculous vampire love stories…again." She smiled, "You can tell me anything. These lips, they're like a vault."

"I," he stopped. He thought long and hard over what he was going to say, and how he was going to word it. "I like someone."

She slapped what she thought was his thigh. "That's not something to get all depressed-n-hidey over! That's something to be excited about! What's her name? Is she in any of her classes? Oo, this is exciting! Have you told her? Does she know? Do you know if she knows?"

"Jenna!" exclaimed Jeremy.

"Sorry…I'll narrow it down to one question: have you told her that you like her, while in class?"

"That's the thing, they aren't in any of my classes –"

"Ah, so you met her outside of school?"

"Not exactly…but, I told them how I felt…ish." Said Jeremy, his voice softening again.

"And? What happened?"

"Stuff happened. Good stuff." Underneath the covers, he smiled.

"Sex stuff?"

"Yeah, but afterward, things got hairy."

"Hairy? Like…" she caught herself, "I really need to keep in mind that you're still my nephew." She laughed.

"I'm nearly an adult though." Said Jeremy. "I'm not exactly in need of protection."

"Well, clearly you do if things are getting, erm, hairy. What happened?" she leaned across his bed, propping her head up against her palm.

"He said he didn't want a relationship…that it was just a, a thing."

_He?_ Jenna thought. _Wait, he really said that_. She contemplated over her response. She didn't care who her niece or nephew loved, so long as they were loved in return; however, she didn't know how to react to his confession. She bit her lip, and silence filled the room.

Sitting up, she pulled at the covers, unveiling Jeremy. "Come here," she said, motioning him toward her. He got up and moved toward her, and immediately felt her arms wrap around him.

"I love you. I love you no matter what. I'll always support you, and love you. This jerk, however, I don't love so much."

"Jenna, I can't breathe." Said Jeremy, a tear rolling down his cheek. He smiled.

"I don't care because I love you." She laughed. "Just know that I'm always here."

She released him from her grip and wiped away a few tears of her own. "Wow," she punched him, "you've got me crying, you jerk."

"Jenna, I'm not –"

"Hey, it's all good! I don't judge." She rustled his hair, "Now, this guy. What's he like?

"He's…a douche." He laughed.

"Yep, you're my nephew alright." She smiled. "But, you can't go running after someone if they don't want to commit."

"Part of me feels like he does, he just doesn't want to admit it – that's what I'm telling myself anyway. I definitely stormed out of there this morning."

"Wait, you were having your little tryst this morning. Curfew buddy, respect it!" she laughed again. "I had to add the adult-moral-thingy in somewhere. But, if you do like him – like, really, really like him – then you have to give it another shot. Especially if he seems to be diggin' ya."

"But, I thought you said –"

"Hey, I'm a glutton for punishment." Shrugged Jenna. "Kinda sounds like you are too."

"Yea, I guess I am." Said Jeremy. "Thanks, Jenna."

"Don't mention it." She got up and made her way to the door. "I'm just glad I don't have to give you that pregnancy talk anymore."

* * *

"What is your problem?" Elena inquired, thrusting herself before the vampire. She folded her arms, glaring at Damon. Something was not right with him.

Damon took note of his place in the text he was reading, "Well, hello to you too, Elena. It's not as if we _haven't_ been enjoying each other's company all day or anything." He returned her glare, but not because she was tearing him away from exciting research, but because her entire composure screamed of him offering some form of explanation.

He felt well and full that he had nothing to explain to her, nothing to atone for, other than the fact the he attacked Jeremy; but, the younger man wore the ring which brought him back to life, so all was well and good. But it wasn't. The only reason Damon hadn't thought about his _friend_ was because of their research to discover the origins of the vampire-werewolf curse.

However, despite how much Damon hated to admit it, he'd much rather be in Mystic Falls spending time with Jeremy. Sure, gaining the knowledge of the curse was crucial, but making things right with Jeremy seemed much more imperative. _He looked so hurt_, thought Damon. _I need to apologize. Will he even listen? _One thing he certainly didn't like about the entire situation was how Jeremy made him feel like a high schooler in a tumultuous relationship that would only last for four class periods.

"Stop messing around, Damon. What is your deal?" asked Elena, once more. "You're completely … civil and –"

"Wait, a minute! You're complaining that I'm behaving? Is that what you're saying here? Last I checked, that's what you wanted me to do!"

Elena furrowed her brow, "You're Damon! You don't listen to anyone! You tease and torment people, you string them along, and you certainly _don't_ behave! Just because you're instantly turning over a new leaf doesn't mean that I'm going to come running back to you."

"Whoa, horsie. Since when did this become all about you? I thought this was the Damon Hour here, but I suppose since we are researching the connection between you and the dastardly Katherine it is all about you. Way to disprove your demographic, buddy." He returned to his book, flipping a page. What's my deal? Pft, what's her deal, he pondered.

"Look, Damon," she started, "I know I'm coming off a little aggressive here, but I don't know how to keep up with you! This morning you're all over the place with your little nuances, and now you're just devoid of all things…well, you."

He returned his focus to her, "Look, sometimes, we vampires get a little visit from our special friend, and that turns us into whiney, overemotional –" Elena's eyes shot daggers, "Nope, that's you. Excuse me, Elena, if I want to be an introvert on this wondrous field trip."

"Cut the crap." Said Elena, snatching the book from his hands and placing it on the desk. "I'm with Stefan. There's nothing you can do or say to change that; you just need to accept the fact that we are – we were – friends."

Damon just stared at her; his face was expressionless. Her eyes held contact with his, her arms remaining crossed against her chest. Tensions had certainly been running high these past\ few weeks what with Katherine's arrival, Caroline's new life as a vampire, the discovery of the vampire and werewolf curse, and Damon trying to kill Jeremy to hurt her.

Elena didn't know how to feel in regards to Damon. Anger, anger was the first emotion, but there was also pity. She pitied how he had been strung along for a century by Katherine, when she wanted nothing to do with him, not really anyhow. Which is why –

"I don't want you, Elena." He started, interrupting her internal tangent, "I can't have you, and I think…I think that's what made me want you to begin with…but now, I really don't know what I want. I mean, I do, but…no. We are not having this conversation."

Elena unfolded her arms and reached out to touch Damon, but he pushed her hand away. "Damon, what's going on?"

"It's your brother." He admitted.

She paused, pondering what she was going to say next, "Look, I don't forgive you for what you did, but in some sick way, I understand why you did it. However, I've got to ask you: did you know he was wearing the ring?"

He chuckled, "Will you still be my friend if I tell the truth?"

She didn't see the humor, "You'll tell the truth because you want me to continue talking to you."

Damon glanced at the book on the table. _She completely jumped to her own conclusion on my mention of Jeremy. What are we? Are we a 'thing'? We're not a couple…that's just…domestic, and not me. I hurt him – she's right. I hurt him then, and I'm hurting him now._ He dropped his head, closing his eyes, "I didn't."

"That's all I needed to hear." Replied Elena, walking away.

"Me too." Damon murmured. He retrieved the book, and flipped back to his last spot. He would treat Jeremy right, the way he should be treated – the way he himself wanted to be treated by Katherine, and even by Elena: as a person, as a man.

* * *

The leaves rustled wildly, echoing throughout the still night. A waft of cool air meandered, through the neighborhood, carrying passengers of orange, brown, and red. The dancing leaves dropped before the Gilbert house.

Jeremy stared at the fallen victims of the night. Thinking about the past 24 hours, the day had been largely unproductive for the young man. However, he did arrive at a solution in regards to his situation with Damon: he wouldn't throw himself at the vampire like some lovesick teenager. He would wait.

He brought his legs closer, wrapping them in his arms. He gazed at the empty street before him as his chin rested upon his knees. _Even for Mystic Falls, this is too quiet_, he thought. _However, maybe quiet was good._ Maybe quiet is exactly what he needed. How many 17 year olds have to worry about vampires, witches, and other previously fabled creatures that only appear in fiction.

He let his eyes fall, closing out the scenery around him. _Maybe I can get a couple of z's_, he thought, _then_ –

"Jeremy! Get inside!" a voice ordered, yanking him from his almost-sleep.

He didn't move – he didn't want to. However, the voice was not asking. Jeremy felt the fist clench around his hoodie and his body, seemingly weightless, followed it into the house.

"Wha-What's going on?" asked Jeremy, regaining complete consciousness.

"There's a werewolf out there," began Stefan, "and we don't exactly know just how dangerous it is –"

"Other than the fact that one bite apparently makes vampires deader than dead – Which…what would that be? A zombie? I don't think I'd make a very cute zombie!" rambled Caroline. She made her way into the living room, completely oblivious to the two men.

Stefan shook his head in aggravation, "She's right, though. I just hope that he – this thing doesn't attack, or harm, anybody."

"He?" asked Jeremy, his brow furrowing.

"Have you heard from Elena?" asked Stefan – changing the subject.

"No," replied Jeremy. Wait, he thought, if werewolves are so dangerous in the vampire department…and, Damon's still out there…he may not – "Damon! Does Damon know about the werewolf?"

Stefan pondered the context behind Jeremy's outburst. Shouldn't he be worried about his sister, and not a vampire that just had attempted to murder him? Stefan then thought back to the time when Jeremy implied his feelings toward Damon. "I'm sure Damon and Elena are safe. However, I haven't been able to reach them to tell them that Mystic Falls currently has its own resident werewolf."

"I don't see what the big deal is! I say we just let the thing tear that good-for-nothing brother of yours to shreds, Stefan!" called Caroline from the other room, a wicked smile dancing across her face.

"Hey!" exclaimed Jeremy. "That's not even funny!" He stepped into the living room and stood before her. "That thing out there could kill him! It could kill all of them!" he added trying to make his concern for Damon's safety a little less obvious than it already was.

"Whatever." Retorted Caroline. "The only people who should be spared from Hairy Dogger out there are Elena and Alaric. Damon can be Iams for all I care!"

"Caroline!" exclaimed Stefan.

Jeremy glared at the woman. _Who the hell did she think she was? How dare she come in here and say those things?_ "Why are you glaring at me, Jeremy?" asked Caroline, completely oblivious to the young man's anger.

"I'm not!" he replied. "I'm just worried about Elena is all." He stormed out of the living room and walked out the front door.

"Jeremy!" called Stefan, following him outside.

"What!" asked Jeremy. "What do you want?"

"Well, honestly, I want to know why you're so upset about this? They're perfectly fine, I'm sure of it! However, I don't understand why you're getting so worked up –"

"It's partly because of the reason I was at your place a few weeks ago." Admitted Jeremy. "We kind of got into a fight, and now I'm worried."

This surprised Stefan. He knew for a fact that Damon was as straight as blood is red. However, lately, Damon had been acting out of character….he'd been acting more human than he had in a century. "So, you and my brother?"

"No, it's not like that." Replied Jeremy. "I don't know what it is, actually. It's just a way to fill the void – kinda like a mutual friendship thing."

"I think your generation calls that 'friends-with-benefits'." Said Stefan, with a smile. He patted Jeremy on the shoulder, "Don't get worked up over this. They're fine."

"It's not even that, entirely. It's just, I think I want more than Damon is willing to give me -"

Stefan's brow furrowed as the younger man continued. He had always been passive and entirely accepting; however, he wasn't entirely used to hearing about his brother's love life, especially from a man.

"- and I just think that he's being completely confusing."

"Look, Jeremy," started Stefan, "do you like my brother?" Jeremy nodded. "Then that's all that matters."

He shrugged as he mulled over Stefan's words. "I'm going to go back inside and check on Caroline. I'd much rather you be inside too, but if you're going to stay out here…please be on the look-out for Hairy Dogger, as Caroline has been calling him." Said Stefan, making his way back into the house.

Jeremy returned to his spot on the porch as he heard the front door close.

As the door closed, Stefan glanced at Caroline who was now standing before him in the foyer. "Let me get this straight…Jeremy, Elena's kid brother….who has now been linked to two now-deader-than-dead vampires…is now getting canoodly with Damon?"

"It would appear that way." Replied Stefan.

"What the heck? I swear, Katherine comes into town and everything hits the fan! I go vamp, Jere goes gay? What's next – a two-part film adaptation of that crappy vampire movie?"

"Caroline, I'm pretty sure we're not even supposed to know about this whole situation, so it's probably best that we just pretend we don't know anything about it." Advised Stefan.

"I don't think so, Stefan. Damon shouldn't be trusted. You know how he treated me! We can't let him do that to Jeremy!" she stamped her heel into the floor in protest.

"It's not the same thing, or at least I don't think it is. From the way the two of them have been acting recently, it seems to be more than that."

Before Caroline could say anything else, a car pulled up to the curb outside. Elena, Damon, and Alaric had returned.

Caroline reached for the doorknob, but Stefan grabbed her wrist, "Not a word. I mean it."

"I'm not going to be the one responsible for outing them." Promised Caroline. "I'll talk to you later."

Walking outside, she began her trek home. Elena closed the car door behind her, and from the corner of her eye she noticed the vampire. Elena called out, "Caroline!"

"Sorry! Can't stay Elena!" replied Caroline, before disappearing into the night altogether. Rather than think about why Caroline was so gruff, she pushed it to the back of her mind. Alaric and Elena walked up the porch, greeted Jeremy, and entered the house to see their respective lovers.

Jeremy sighed as he noticed Damon wasn't even in the car. _Typical_, he thought. He got up and trekked up the stairs to his bedroom. After how things ended this morning, the least he could have done was come over, he thought. Jeremy fell onto the bed and closed his eyes.

"No 'Hi', or 'Hello'?" a familiar voice asked next to him.

"You're not really here, Damon." Said Jeremy aloud, his eyes remaining closed.

"Of course I am," replied the vampire. "I'm in bed next to you, bud." Damon pushed a lock of hair out of Jeremy's face and placed his hand on the younger man's chest. "Open your eyes."

"I can't. If I do that, then things'll get all mushy. I'll want to kiss you – I'll want to be with you…and those are feelings." Said Jeremy. "We said no feelings."

"I know we did, but if it's any consolation, I'm sorry for this morning. I was being my typically awesome Damony self, and I'm…sorry." He said. "Now, come on, open your eyes. I'm not good at this whole human stuff."

"That's an awful apology." replied the other man. Jeremy scooted closer to the vampire and placed his head on Damon's chest. "If we just lay here, we're not breaking any rules. There are no feelings, no strings, nothing."

"Jere-"

"I was worried about you. Stefan said that there was a werewolf lurking about, and I was afraid that you wouldn't know about it, and it would hurt you." Admitted Jeremy, blushing as he realized just how overly-worried he sounded.

"Shh," said Damon, running a hand through Jeremy's hair. "I'm good. Well, I'm not. You see, there's this guy I know…"

"Uh-huh?"

"Well, we had this arrangement where we would, I guess, fill in the blanks for each other. And, we wouldn't have feelings, and it'd just be something to take the suck out of life – sorta." He chuckled. "But, along the way, the guy sorta became a fixture in my thoughts. And, right now…I just can't imagine my days without him. What should I do?"

A small smile played on Jeremy's lips. "You should tell him. You should throw away the arrangement and just…be together…regardless of any notions of doubt and issues there may be."

Damon laughed, "See, I would, but he won't open his eyes and acknowledge my presence."

"Maybe he doesn't want to get hurt – again." Replied Jeremy.

"Maybe I don't want to hurt him. Maybe I want to keep him safe." Said Damon.

The two men laid there in silence as their exchanged words sank in. Damon's hand continued moving through Jeremy's hazel hair, and Jeremy's head remained atop the vampire's chest.

"I want to be with you…not as a 'friend-with-benefits', but …I guess as a –"

"Boyfriend?" finished Damon. "To be honest, I've never had one of those before. Never really had any interest in the menfolk, but for you…I'd give it a go."

Jeremy opened his eyes and moved back to the pillow, looking Damon in the eyes. "You mean it?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "I'm glad you've opened your eyes. You'd miss the best part!"

"Oh really, what's that?" asked Jeremy.

"The part where I kiss you." Said Damon. He cupped the younger man's face in his hand, and pressed his lips to Jeremy's.

**

* * *

AN: I'm back! So, suffice it to say I suppose I sort of owe an explanation. I had started this chapter a month ago, and after getting (eight pages) into it, I realized that I really didn't know where I wanted this to go. So, after a month of semi-writer's block, refusal to rely on canon, and numerous rewrites to the plot of this chapter…I'm back. I didn't mean to wait this long, but between the whole confusion of what to do, Spring Semester starting up, and my new job – MM got pushed to the back burner. However, I promise never to wait a full month before updating, again. However, I will note that your continued interest, dear reader, is heavily appreciated. Stick around, leave me love, and I'll return in a week or so.**


	4. Chapter Four: Treasure

**Memento Mori**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the disease known as VD; however, I own the cure. And, by 'cure,' I mean there isn't.**

**Author's Note: I'll make a better attempt to not be so pregnant in regards to the gaps between each chapter. Part of the cause stems from a lack of overall plot direction, while the other is a result of numerous life-responsibilities. Nevertheless, enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Treasure**

Across the horizon, the full moon gleamed against the empty, starless sky. Howls echoed throughout the night, gusts of wind took hold of stray objects, and denizens all about Mystic Falls turned out their lights for the evening. However, unbeknownst to them, two men discussed the definition of their relationship.

The two men laid on Jeremy's bed in silence as their exchanged words sank in. Damon's hand continued moving through Jeremy's hazel hair, while the younger man's head remained atop the vampire's chest. _There should be a heartbeat_, he thought. _I should want to date someone with a pulse, but here I am…_

"I want to be with you…not as a 'friend-with-benefits', but …I guess as a –"

"Boyfriend?" finished Damon. His brow furrowed as he thought over his response, "To be honest, I've never had one of those before. Never really had any interest in the menfolk, but for you…I'd give it a go." Regardless of how new the territory was, he meant every word. Yes, he loved Katherine; and, furthermore, he was in love with Elena…but, as strange as it was, he could see himself loving Jeremy too, if not the most.

Jeremy opened his eyes and moved back to the pillow, looking Damon in the eyes. "You mean it?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "I'm glad you've opened your eyes, or you would've missed the best part!"

"Oh really, what's that?" asked Jeremy coyly. _What could he have planned_, pondered Jeremy.

"The part where I kiss you." answered Damon, cupping the younger man's face in his hand; he pressed his lips to Jeremy's. The younger man managed to sneak his hand underneath the vampire's shirt, all the while Damon's tongue happened to find its way into a battle with Jeremy's.

After what felt like an eternity, the two broke apart for air. "Wow," breathed Jeremy, "kissing alone is pretty damn perfect in my book." He chuckled trying to hide the fact that his face was burning a bright red.

Damon pushed his now-boyfriend's hair back and laughed, "Well, I heard a little rumor that people who go steady do this thing all the time." He smiled, revealing what Jeremy found to be the sexiest grin in the world.

"'Steady'? Do people really refer to it like that anymore?" asked Jeremy, his fingers, now outside of the fabric of the Damon's t-shirt, tiptoeing along the older man's chest. He paused briefly over where Damon's heart was, and began circling the area with his index finger.

"It's certainly a better suited word than what your generation has evolved it into." He scoffed, "These days it's all digital, and a little creepy, if you ask me. _Sexting_, alone, sounds like a disorder."

Jeremy sighed, "Now, I certainly feel young –"

"You feel young? I feel dated!" exclaimed Damon.

The younger male smiled, "This doesn't feel real, you know. I feel like I'm going to close my eyes, and when I open them again, you're not going to be here…" He trailed off, his eyes fixating at where his hand rested against the vampire's chest.

"It's real, bud. I'm here, you're here. Sure, it's a little quick – or, at least it feels like it – but, the present, that's what matters, right?"

"Then let's take things slow. Let's act all relationshipy. Maybe even go on a date, or something." Suggested Jeremy. He lifted his gaze to meet Damon's and bit his lower lip as he awaited the vampire's response.

"You sure are making this an old-fashioned courting affair." Said Damon, a smile plastered on his face. "You're lucky you're cute or I'd certainly have moved along with my happy immortality by now."

Jeremy nudged him in the thigh with his knee, his face mimicking Damon's. "I'm cute? That's all I mean to you, eh?"

The two men gazed at one another –smiles galore- as the weight of their conversation sank in. However, with the gravity came a severity that forced both men to abandon their cheery dispositions while they translated the thoughts within their respective minds.

Damon cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "You make all of the pain go away. You make me want to be a better person."

In awe, Jeremy stuttered a bit trying to find his words, "W-well, y-you…" he paused, "You make the world suck a little less; I want to live because of you."

Words were no longer necessary. Damon rolled on to his back while Jeremy scooted closer, closing the distance between them. The younger man rested his head on the vampire's chest as their hands entangled. The smiles from before returned, dancing an encore across the faces of both men.

Jeremy slowly drifted off to sleep, a soft snore escaping him. The vampire, with his free hand, ran through Jeremy's hair. He planted a kiss on the younger man's head. "You're so cute when you sleep."

* * *

The sunlight cascaded through the front door of the Gilbert house, echoing the joyful demeanors of the home's inhabitants. A knock sounded against the door, and Elena rushed to answer it.

"Caroline!" she exclaimed. "I'm glad you could make it!"

The blonde smiled, "I'm glad you invited me! Today would have been a boring blur had you not texted me." She entered the house and followed Elena into the living room.

"So, how have you been?" asked Elena, half-cautious, half-curious as to what Caroline's answer would be. It was still weird for her to see one of her best friends as a vampire, regardless of how real the reality of it was.

Caroline thought of her response, her exuberance fading slightly. "I've been better. This whole 'living dead' thing is still a little new, but thanks to Stefan I'm starting to get a little more control over the urges. Speaking of which," she paused, rummaging through her purse. She pulled out a bag of baby carrots, and after opening it pulled one out. "I've found that eating helps a little bit." She started munching on the vegetable.

It hurt Elena to see Caroline go through this, but at least she was able to acclimate to her new life a little easier than most. "Well, at least it's almost like nothing's changed." She forced a smile.

"Yeah, except for the fact that I have this urge to rip out your jugular and drain your blood. Kidding" Said Caroline, popping another carrot into her mouth.

A weak laugh escaped Elena as she grimaced.

Ignoring Elena's awkwardness, and taking another bite, Caroline asked, "So, how's Jeremy?"

* * *

"Nnn," groaned Jeremy as he began to stir from his slumber. He snuggled closer to the body in the bed next to him, and smiled in his half-sleep. "Y'still hrrr."

Running his hand through Jeremy's hair, Damon replied, "Mm, you fell asleep on top of me, and I didn't want to wake you."

"Ever the gentleman." said Jeremy. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Why? Got a hot date?" mocked Damon. "I mean, they'd have to be especially hot, too, seeing as I'm the sexiest of them all."

Jeremy nudged him playfully, "No, I'm just naturally curious. But, seriously, what time is it?"

"Noonish? Hey, we could get a nooner." Suggested Damon, wearing a devilish grin.

"NOON!" exclaimed Jeremy, sitting up. "Dude, not cool! What if Jenna or Elena had walked in?"

Damon sat up and grabbed the younger man's shoulders, "Whoa, cowboy. Don't worry, the door's been locked since last night. And, regardless, they've both been working on getting everything set up for that barbeque thing that they're doing for Mason Lockwood." Said Damon, his voice laced with hatred at the mention of alleged werewolf.

Jeremy noticed the ill-feeling, "Hey, what's so bad about Mason Lockwood?"

_I don't want you involved in this._ The vampire sighed, "It's nothing. Again, don't worry about it." He pressed his forehead against Jeremy's and trailed his hand along Jeremy's front, pausing above his groin before grasping it. Smiling, he said, "In all seriousness, though, I wasn't kidding about that nooner."

"As much as my libido would appreciate some fun in the sheets," began Jeremy, pushing Damon's hand away, "I don't know…I think maybe we should take things all slow." Said Jeremy. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm all for kissing every inch of you, you biting my neck, and everything else in between, but…now that we're trying to do things all normal-like, I think we should wait it out a bit."

_This kid is something_, thought Damon. _Usually we menfolk are all about the debauchery under the covers_ – "Okay."

"Okay? You're cool with it?" asked Jeremy, a little unsure of Damon's approval of the idea.

"Yeah, everything means something, especially now; besides, the past few weeks were 'no strings,' so yeah. Let's take things slowly – like we said last night."

"I feel like I'm bringing the humanity out of you." Gleamed Jeremy, a little uneasy with a dash of accomplishment.

"More than I'd like sometimes." Said Damon, smiling. "I'm trying that whole 'thinking, before speaking' spiel everyone goes on about." Jeremy gave him a funny look.

"So, you're going to be nice to everyone from now on?"asked Jeremy, pulling away, hardly believing the sudden character change that Damon was proposing.

"Oh, God, no. No, no, no. Just you." Replied the vampire. "I don't want to be a quote dick unquote toward you again."

"Did I mention how none of this seems real?" laughed Jeremy.

"Oh, shut it." Said Damon, pulling Jeremy in – their lips connecting.

"Hey, Jere," called Elena from the other side of the door, "are you up, yet?"

"Fuck." whined Jeremy, breaking their lip-lock.

Damon nodded toward the door, "Go answer it, I should be going, anyhow; I've got some errands that need taking care of." Said Damon with a slight sneer. Jeremy – completely missing the foul look – nodded in agreement, but his eyes gave him away: he didn't want this moment to end any more than Damon did. "Go on," Damon repeated, with an encouraging smile to boot.

Jeremy got up to answer his door, and turned back to get one last look at his boyfriend before greeting the day. "See you later?" Jeremy mouthed.

"Bet on it." Replied Damon.

He opened the door, but barely. "Hey, Elena. What's up?" He let out an awkward laugh. Elena looked him up and down.

"Is something going on in there? I could've sworn I heard someone else's voice in here."

"In here? No, nah, of course not! It's just me." replied Jeremy. _Please be gone, please be gone_, he pleaded. He swung the door open the rest of the way to prove that he was the only person inside of the room.

Elena glanced around the room. _Everything seems to be normal_, she thought. His bed was a mess, the window was wide open, and the room screamed for a good cleaning – as per usual. "Just making sure." She laughed. "Hey, did you want to join us for this barbeque-cook-in-thing? It's just going to be me, Jenna, Caroline, Alaric, and Mason Lockwood."

_Mason? What is he coming over for?_ "Nah, I'm thinking of meeting up some friends at the diner later."

"Okay." She smiled, that's good. "Well, enjoy your plans! I'll go let Jenna know you're not joining us."

As the door closed behind her, Elena made her way downstairs into the kitchen. Jeremy let out a sigh of relief as he plopped onto his bed. _That was –_

A knock rapped against the door.

_-Close? _

Jeremy groaned as he pulled himself up and walked to the door. Before he could reach the handle, it was already turning. "Hi Jeremy!" greeted Caroline as she pushed her way into his bedroom. She looked around and took a seat on his bed. "So, I know what you've been up to."

He managed a laugh, "I don't know what you're talking about, Caroline."

"Oh, don't play coy. I know you and Damon have a _thing_. And, though I don't judge, you shouldn't be getting involved with him."

"How do you even know about this?" exclaimed Jeremy, pressing the door shut.

Caroline smiled, "Oh, Jeremy, how little you've caught on to my mystical ways of the grapevine manipulation." She balled her hand into a fist and brushed it against her shoulder and then blew on her fingernails dramatically. "Regardless of how I know, you should take the opposite direction that Damon is heading in."

Jeremy stared at her incredulously. "That's none of your business."

"Okay, Jeremy. I'm trying to be nice about this. Damon, he's bad news. I would know – "

"Look, it's different. I'm on vervain, we're both –" he paused. "You know what? I'm not going to explain myself to you!"

"Jere, I'm just trying to make sure you don't get hurt. You're my best friend's little brother."

"Caroline, I'm pretty sure you have more important things to worry about." The two stood their ground as the tension filled the room to the ceiling. "Thank you for worrying, but don't. Everything's fine."

"Okay, but I'm going to be keeping my eye on you two."

"Whatever – just, just don't tell Elena, okay?" asked Jeremy. "Please."

"These lips are sealed."

* * *

Jenna was preparing the salad when Elena walked into the kitchen. "So, Jeremy? Yay, nay? Oh, by the way, Mason's here!"

"Definitely 'nay'. Says he's got plans with some friends." Replied Elena. "Where is he?"

"Oh, he's looking for the shot glasses. Oh, I bet I know what his plans really are!" exclaimed Jenna. She put down the knife, dropped the sliced peppers into the bowl, and clapped her hands. "Jeremy's technically-sorta-kinda-seeing someone!"

Elena's jaw dropped, "Shut up!"

"Ooo, but I don't think anybody is supposed to know, so you definitely didn't hear it from me! Keep it on the RQ."

Elena covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to stifle her laughter, "The 'RQ'?"

"You know? _Real quiet_?" replied Jenna, oblivious to what Elena found to be so humorous. She patted herself down, and searched aimlessly for nonexistent stray hairs.

"You do realize you're not that old, right?" asked Elena.

"I'm using the wrong acronym-thingy, aren't I?"

"So, so terribly." Replied Elena.

Jenna returned to her attention to the salad, "Well, regardless of what type of secrecy it is, just …keep it that: secret."

"Oh, I will. But, I do wonder who he's seeing." Pondered Elena. "Do you think it'd be anyone I know?"

"Well, he wasn't too specific on the specifics, but he was specific on the character traits." Answered Jenna.

Slightly confused, Elena asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, from what he divulged, I already don't like hi- HIMBURGERS!" exclaimed Jenna, barely catching herself from letting the rabbit out of the hat on the whole scenario.

"Himburgers?" asked Elena, falling deeper down the rabbit's hole of confusion.

"Yes! Yes, indeed! I hate himburgers! I hope Alaric remembered to buy extra hot dogs. _Caroline, did you say something?_" Jenna called nervously, trying to divert Elena's attention.

"No, Jenna!" replied Caroline from the other room. The sound of crunching carrots echoed into the kitchen.

_Caroline!_ She had completely forgotten that she was here. "Well, I should probably get back to Caroline. She's been going through a rough patch, so thanks for letting me invite her!"

Ecstatic that the conversation was shifting, Jenna said, "Well, she's not the 'plus one' I'm worried about." She paused. "Why is Damon coming?"

"Because Alaric is a pity-taker." Elena sighed. If she could tolerate the vampire, so could her aunt. "Come on, Jenna. Be nice."

Adding the final touches to the salad and bringing it to the fridge, Jenna responded, "Oh, I'll be nice when Damon learns to keep his paws off of you. He should know better than to try and get in between you and his own brother!"

Elena rolled her eyes. _Oh, if only you knew, Jenna. If only you knew the whole story._

"A-ha!" exclaimed Mason Lockwood, entering the kitchen. "Good news: found the shot glasses!" The dark hazel-haired man smiled as he brandished his discovery, looking between Jenna and Elena.

"That would be my exit." Said Elena, feeling confused, suspicious, and now awkward.

Mason began pouring alcohol into two shot glasses, as Elena made her way into the living room to rejoin Caroline. He handed one of the glasses to Jenna. "You're here ten minutes, and already I'm under the bleachers at the pep rally."

"It's just like old times, huh?" smiled Mason, giving Jenna a hug. "Only this time, I didn't swipe the bottle from my old man."

The two broke apart, and the door opened – Alaric, groceries in hand. Mason grabbed another shot glass, filling it to the brim, and handed it to him.

The vampire-hunting-history-teacher downed the shot and smiled, "Oh, the expensive stuff. I like you already!" He patted Mason on the back, and made his way to the counter to drop off the bags.

"Just happy to be invited." Said Mason.

"Well, thank 'Ric," said Jenna. She took her shot; gritting her teeth at the taste of the alcohol, she set the glass on the counter. "This was his idea."

Mason looked from Jenna to Alaric and smirked, "Really?" _Because that's…not weird_, he thought.

Alaric slouched against the counter, opposite Jenna and Mason, "Yeah, well, I thought it'd be nice to meet some of Jenna's high school friends. You know, dig up a little dirt."

Mason waved the bottle of alcohol at the both of them, and they obliged by returning their glasses for another shot. "Oh, I've got dirt. I've got dirt."

Jenna waved her free hand in pretend-dismay, "I've no secrets! Only dirty, dirty shame."

Mason and Alaric glanced at one another, then toward Jenna, "To dirty shame!"

The three clanked their shot glasses, "Cheers!" However, just before each shot was consumed, the door opened once more. Damon poked his head inside, and knocked on the frame of the door. "Hey." His voice was filled with a friendly sarcasm that reeked of ulterior motif.

Jenna stiffened up, her buzz gone. "_Damon_."

Noticing the tension, Alaric grabbed a shot glass, "Hey, we're just doing shots. Have a glass, buddy."

Jenna thrusted hers at Damon, spilling some of the booze, "Here, have mine." She swiftly exited the room, not wanting to spend another minute with the attempted-home-wrecker. Alaric followed shortly after, throwing both Mason and Damon apologetic looks.

"She doesn't like me very much." Said Damon, taking the shot.

"We haven't met," started the other man, "Mason Lockwood." He extended his hand to Damon, who quickly accepted.

"Hey, Damon Salvatore."

"I've heard good things about you." Said Mason, drinking his shot.

"Really? That's weird. I'm a dick." Replied the vampire, puzzled.

"Hey, Jenna, I'm going to go out for a bit!" called Jeremy from the foyer. "Jenna?" He walked into the kitchen and noticed Damon and Mason. "Hey, have either of you seen Jenna?" He shot Damon a quizzical look.

"Oh, hey Jeremy, how've you been?" asked Mason, extending his hand to the younger man.

Shaking his hand, Jeremy replied, "I've been pretty good – pretty great, actually." It took everything in his power not to glance over at Damon and blush. "Anyway, have you seen Jenna?"

"Oh, right! She went upstairs, I think."

"Thanks!" said Jeremy as he turned to leave.

"Hey, Jeremy. Where are you going?" asked Damon, trying to mask every ounce of suspicion in his voice. He eyed his boyfriend, "Got a hot date?"

Jeremy glanced at Mason, whose back was toward him, "Not exactly." Answered Jeremy, his voice cracking.

The vampire laughed weakly as Jeremy left, and returned his attention to Mason, "Mind passing me the booze?" Mason eyed the other man oddly, and filled his glass up.

"Mind explaining all the awkwardness that just happened?"

"Not exactly." Replied Damon, downing the shot.

* * *

Jenna slammed the door shut behind her. "Ughhhh. I hate him!" She plopped on her bed, and fell backward stretching her arms out to the opposite ends.

Alaric knocked lightly on the door before entering. "Hey, hun. Figured you'd want a cool-down…or a pick-me-up?"

"I just want a Kick-Damon-Out." Groaned Jenna.

He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his girlfriend's thigh. "Now, come on. He isn't that bad."

"Isn't that bad?" she shrieked. "He's pawing at Elena like she's some kind of paw-thing, and I'm her aunt so I should be protecting her from him. Plus, he's such a total 'badboy' type. So, even if Elena wasn't with Stefan, he's not for her. In any universe. The parental urges in me all point to 'hate him.'" She sat up and rested her had against Alaric's arm.

"Hey, don't worry about Elena. She's a big girl – hell, a young woman, now." He chuckled. "She can definitely hold her own."

"Yeah, I know. It's him I just don't trust, though." Sighed Jenna. "We should go back down there, huh?"

"Yep." Replied Alaric. "You left Elena down there with Damon –"

"Damn!" exclaimed Jenna, rushing out of the room.

"Caroline and Mason, too." Shrugged Alaric, laughing.

* * *

Jeremy doodled in his sketchpad, further ignoring the fries he had ordered an hour ago. He had lied about having legitimate plans with friends; he just wanted to get out of the house for a bit. But, why was Damon over at his house? That bothered him almost as much as the fact that he had neglected to tell him why the mention of Mason Lockwood got him so worked up.

Frustrated, he scratched out his current doodle entirely: a heart. _Cut it out Gilbert_, he chided. _You can't let yourself go all school-girl. Remember that._ He began tapping his pencil against the pad to the beat of "Sing." For some reason, he couldn't seem to get the song out of his head. Either way, neither the song, nor the doodling, stood a chance at distracting him from the fact that Damon was over at his house. _What could he possibly have to do over there?_

_I give up._ He rested his head in his palms, his elbows slouching against the table. He glanced around the diner. Everything seems so – _What could Damon possibly have to do that involves Mason Lockwood? _

Across the diner, Sara was playing pool with her best friend, and winning, too, as a matter of fact. Smiling from her recent 'whole-in-one' as she called it, she looked up and noticed Jeremy Gilbert brooding by his lonesome. "Hey, when did Jeremy Gilbert get so cute?" she asked, nudging her friend in the arm.

Looking at Sara, puzzled, she replied, "Oh, no. Stay away. That guy is damaged goods."

However, this did not sway Sara in the slightest; it only increased her interest. "Maybe I can fix him?" she shrugged, striking the yellow solid ball into the left corner pocket.

Jeremy witnessed the eye-sexing that Sara was sending his way. Usually he would find it flattering, but for some reason…today, he found it creepy – as if she were awkwardly dancing the Cell Block Tango for kindergarteners.

Checking his watch, he thought it'd be a good idea to leave, or at least go elsewhere – anywhere but home. He packed up his sketchpad, and left money to pay for the uneaten food. He was halfway down the aisle by the time he noticed that Tyler Lockwood was sitting at the very end.

"Hey man, how've ya been?" he waved.

Tyler blinked, but remained fixated on the glass in his hands. "Since when?" _What's he doing talking to me_, he wondered.

Jeremy shrugged, "I don't know, I haven't seen you much since your father's funeral, and that one day a few weeks ago. I just figured, maybe you'd wanna –"

"I'm fine Gilbert!" Tyler exclaimed, shortly. He was in no mood to have any company join in on his pity-party.

"Okay, then." Said Jeremy, turning to walk away. Tyler looked up.

"Wait, I'm sorry." He apologized. "Do you wanna sit?"

Jeremy accepted and pulled out the chair opposite to Tyler, and sat down. "So, what's new?"

"Uncle trying to be the dad I never had, mother trying to pretend like nothing happened, and me just trying to go with the motions." He replied.

"Geez, that sucks. That makes my drama-rama seem like a walk in the park." Said Jeremy.

"Do tell. I'd like a break from the crap that I've been dealing with." Suggested Tyler, now giving Jeremy his full attention.

He gulped. He couldn't exactly tell Tyler every detail, let alone the glaring gender details in one particular area. "Well, for starters, that advice you gave me helped. We're – me and the person I was crushing on – now kind of dating-ish."

"That's good, right?" asked Tyler, taking a sip from his beverage.

"I'd like to think so. But, things are still new, so the waters – we're a treadin'. It's a little awkward right now 'cause they're kinda keeping a secret from me, that in hindsight probably isn't even that big of a deal, but I still want to know what's happening with them. And, the whole 'dating' label just came into play, so of course we're going to have secrets, but still this is new to me – so, I really don't know what's going on in their head."

"Well, did _they_ – hold up, Gilbert. You're getting pronoun happy here. Are you dating another guy?"

Had Jeremy been drinking something, he certainly would have choked. However, since he was only breathing – he choked anyway. "Excuse me?"

"Are you dating a guy?" asked Tyler, once more. "You keep referring to your 'date-ee' as 'they' or 'them'. I mean, it's really no big deal, and really…that's you're prerogative."

He mulled over his response for 2.5 seconds, "Yes."

"See, now that wasn't so hard, now was it. Now, who is it, may I ask?"

"We're actually keeping that bit of information quiet for the time being." Replied Jeremy. "But, since you've been such a friendly ear, I'll definitely let you know first when that intel goes public."

"Thanks, I guess." Laughed Tyler. "Anyhow, things are just starting out, so don't fret over every little thing. The two of you have to build some trust; just give it time. He'll come around to telling you sooner or later, anyway." Jeremy started laughing. "What's so funny?"

"I'm taking dating advice from you."

Tyler shrugged. "Hey, stranger things have happened."

"Well, now that I've unloaded on you. Share your troubles."

"I don't even know where to begin." Replied Tyler. "I just know that Mason is really starting to get on my last nerve with this overprotective spiel of his. And, these days he keeps going on, and on, about our family's legacy."

"Weird."

"You don't even know the half of it."

* * *

After a long evening of charades, good food, and wonderful conversation, everyone sat around the living exchanging small talk, the adults drinking more than they should – leaving Elena and Caroline as sober witnesses.

"I don't know," began Damon, "even I have that problem when it comes to approaching women. I just hate being rejected, though. That moment when you're walking back to your buddies with your tail between your legs really sucks. Don't you think, Mason?" he asked, taking a swig out of his glass. He smiled, while awaiting the werewolf's response.

"Not really, Damon." Replied Mason, thoroughly annoyed with the other man's sneaky innuendos. "I usually hit the home run on the first go."

"Oh, Damon wishes he had that going for him!" exclaimed Jenna, with a red tinge about her cheeks. "Hell, he's been trying for forever to get Elena to notice him, and no! It ain't happe-nin' bud-deeeeee."

The room fell silent as they all watched Jenna slur her words together. "Jenna, I think you've had too much to drink." Said Alaric, taking her glass and walking it to the kitchen. "I'll bring you back a water." He called.

She pouted. "But, I don't want to drink water."

"Don't worry, Jenna, you can have mine." Said Damon, offering her his glass – which she kindly accepted.

"I like you." She took a sip, and whispered. "If Alaric and I…if we weren't – you know – then, you and me…tottttaaallllyyyyy."

Damon rolled his eyes. _Well, the first mission on the agenda is semi-complete,_ he thought. _Now, on to the second – _

A pinch on his arm stole him away from his thoughts. He looked to his right to notice that Elena was now grabbing his arm and dragging him into the kitchen. "We'll be right back." She said with a smile.

They passed Alaric, water in tow, and hurried into the kitchen. She pushed him against the counter which warranted a feigned 'Ow' expression from the vampire. "Aunt Jenna is getting tipsy." He said with a smile.

"Will you stop plying her with alcohol?" Elena asked, part-command, part-plea. It was bad enough that she had to look after the behavior of a century-and-a-half-year-old vampire, but now her own aunt who was the biggest lightweight…it was a little too much for one night.

Damon whined, "But, I just want her to like me."

Elena looked over her shoulder to make sure that nobody could see them from the living room. "Worming your way into the approval of all of the people I care about isn't going to repair our relationship Damon." Retorted Elena.

"Who said I was trying to impress them on your behalf?" replied Damon. "Way to be so…teenagey. What with the self-centeredness."

"What are you getting at Damon?"

"I'm just saying that you're not my numero uno priority. And, besides, my _private_ life is none of your business, Elena." He smirked. "Doesn't it just suck not to be in the _know_?"

Elena sighed, "Whatever. Anyhow, how's operation Lockwood coming along? Stefan filled me in on most of the details."

"He's my new bff." Replied the vampire, popping a grape into his mouth.

The two glared at each other in silence for an awkward amount of time. Elena couldn't understand what exactly was going on in Damon's head, but whatever it was…it clearly wasn't something she should worry about. There were bigger things that needed tending to.

The front door closed, breaking their silence game. "We should probably get back in there." Said Elena, making her way into the living room.

Damon rolled his eyes at her. Sheesh. Now that he was an unavailable man, she was all over him. Speaking of which, he could smell Jeremy's cologne –

"Hey," replied Jeremy. "I'm back." He offered a weak smile.

"You know, if this were one of those telenovela things, I could totally get away with the whole jilted-lover thing." Said Damon. "Why didn't you tell me you were gallivanting all about the town?"

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be spending the evening with my family?"

"Fair enough."

Silence filled the room, but only for a second.

"If it makes you feel any better," began Jeremy, "or juvenile, anyhow…I missed you."

The vampire smiled. "Come here." Jeremy obliged and made his way to his boyfriend, tangling his arms around Damon's neck. Damon leaned down, wrapping his own arms around the younger male's waist, and pressed his lips to Jeremy's. _It feels like it's been an eternity since I've been able to kiss him_, thought the vampire.

Breaking for air, Damon spoke, "I missed you, too, for the record." Jeremy smiled, tip-toeing upward to meet Damon's lips.

"There you are –" Jenna paused, her mouth agape.

Startled, the two men broke apart and darted to opposite ends of the counter.

"Jenna, I- I can explain," stammered Jeremy.

Still processing what she had just walked in on, Jenna spoke, "Well, isn't this fun? So…" she stopped and pointed at Jeremy, and then to Damon. "He's the douche?"

Damon shot a puzzled look at Jeremy, "You called me a douche?"

Jenna, still fixated on Jeremy, pointed to the older man, "Not the time, bucko. And, in his defense – see I do care – it was weeks ago when he said it."

Jeremy shrugged toward Damon, mouthing "Sorry."

"Oh, dear. I can't tell if I'm too drunk…or not drunk enough!" exclaimed Jenna. "I'm just going to get – Damon, hand me one of those knives. Right there…from the silver set. Yeah, I'm going to cut the cake."

Damon eyed the blades, and retrieved one for Jenna. Handing her the knife, he made sure to avoid her eye contact. "Um," he cleared his throat. "Yeah."

Feeling incredibly awkward, Jenna said, "I'm gonna go back to the party. Um, cut out the touchy-feelies until tomorrow when I'm sobered up. We're SO having the talk." She left the kitchen, walking back into the living. The two men, still in the kitchen, heard her clear her throat and announce. "Don't go into the kitchen, I accidentally knocked over a couple of glasses – so, yeah. Glass. Everywhere. Who's ready for cake?"

Alaric, puzzled, asked, "Did you really? We didn't hear anything…"

"No, no. Sit back down. And, yes. I'm making Damon clean it up."

Jeremy looked at Damon with a cheesy grin, "Well, at least now the awkwardness of 'meeting Jenna' is out of the way."

"Shut it." Said Damon, jokingly.

"Well, as awkward as this whole event has been…I'm going to go upstairs. See you laterish?"

Damon nodded. Jeremy walked out of the kitchen, brushing passed Mason, and made his way upstairs.

"I thought Jenna said that there was glass all over the place." Said Mason, looking about the kitchen – noticing a spotless, glassless floor.

"Yeah, I cleaned it up, already." Replied Damon, crossing his arms.

"Really, now?" asked Mason. "Well, Jenna just brought out the Guitar Hero while everyone's munching on some cake. I think it might be time to mutiny!" he chuckled a bit, hoping to break the tension between them.

"Well, I happen to like Guitar Hero. So, you, my friend, are barking up the wrong tree." Replied Damon, with a smirk of his own.

"Alright, enough with the innuendos – you win, you're hilarious!" exclaimed Mason. "You're jokes are really starting to get old. You really think that I'm completely clueless as to what this barbeque is really about?"

"I like to think of it as a nice dinner scene for people to get to know one another in a more intimate setting." Retorted Damon.

"Okay, enough games, Damon. I'd like to think that even you are better than that."

Damon unfolded his arms and inched closer to the other man. "How do you know about me? Your brother was completely clueless!"

"It doesn't matter; I'm not your enemy –"

"You tried to kill my brother." Snapped Damon, his anger rising.

Mason shook his head in embarrassment, "That was a mistake. There was a confusion – I couldn't chain myself up in time." He looked to the floor. "I have no control once I shift."

This is bullshit, thought Damon. "Aw, no obedience school? I hope they at least had the decency to paper train you."

Mason clenched his fist, "I'm serious. Now, let's not spark some age-old feud that doesn't apply to us." Noticing his defensive, he unclenched his hands and attempted a more passive stance.

"Do you really expect me to believe that you're only here to plant peace trees and give to the needy?"

"I lost my brother – my nephew lost his father – I'm here for my family. Let's be above this." Mason extended his hand to the vampire. Damon accepted it, and the two shook.

From the corner of his eye, Damon eyed the silver knives.

"Please tell Jenna that I had an emergency to attend to, and that I'm sorry that I wasn't able to say 'goodbye' myself." Damon nodded reluctantly, and the two men released their grip. Mason turned to leave, and Damon took the opportunity to grab the silver blade and plunge it through Mason's back. A gurgle escaped the werewolf as blood began to trickle out of his mouth.

Mason dropped to the floor, making a _thud_ sound. "Oops, I knocked over the broom!" exclaimed Damon, directing his voice to the living room.

Tip-toeing to the kitchen's entrance, Damon peered into the hallway to make sure nobody would be coming his way. A feeling of accomplishment washed over the vampire as he mentally checked off his day's 'To-Do List.' He turned around to go move Mason's body, but –

Where is he?

Damon smacked hard against the kitchen floor as Mason's fist connected with his face. "You know, I want to say it was the werewolves who started the whole silver thing." He reached behind himself and pulled the blade out as if it were being pulled out of a loaf of bread. "Probably for moments like these." He swung his leg back and kicked Damon square in the gut.

"Duly noted." Coughed Damon, spitting up some blood.

Mason knelt down to make eye contact with the vampire. "And, the next time you try to pull a stunt like that behind my back – I'm going after your little boyfriend. You're not as subtle as you may think." He smiled, pointing to his ear. "Now, you be a good little boy." He patted the Damon on the shoulder and walked toward the door, dropping the knife on the counter. "Do remember to give Jenna my regrets."

* * *

**Author's Note: It should be noted that I am deeply apologetic over the fact that it took me four months to get around to this chapter. I was originally going to hold off until posting this on Monday, but then I realized that you all have waited long enough. Leave me some love, and I'll see you soonish. (Seriously. The next chapter's already 1/3 finished)**


	5. Chapter Five: Dear My Closest Friend

**Memento Mori**

**Disclaimer: I am not, and have never been, in possession of 'The Vampire Diaries'.**

**Author's Note: I'd like to think that I'm getting better at this. **

* * *

**Chapter Five: Dear My Closest Friend**

Damon slowly stood up, gingerly placing a hand over where he had just been kicked. It still amazed him that despite being a vampire with supernatural abilities and perks, he could still have his ass handed to him. He gritted his teeth as he regained his composure, grasping the edge of the counter with his free hand for extra support.

"Well, that certainly could have gone better," said Damon aloud.

He couldn't go back into the living room just yet, especially not now seeing as he looked like the loser in a fight. He hated that – more than anything. Mason was going to pay; Damon would see to that. Not only was he threatening his own existence, as well as his brother's and even Caroline's, but he threatened Jeremy's most of all.

Feeling nearly healed, he fixed the wrinkles in his shirt, straightened his hair, and walked back into the living room to rejoin the party. He immediately noticed that Caroline had already left; and, now Alaric was walking a very drunk Jenna upstairs. Elena turned around and noticed his return.

"It took you long enough – the party's over. Where's Mason?" she asked, looking over the vampire's shoulder.

"He split." Replied Damon, his voice laced with malice.

Elena noticed the red tinge around his lip, "What happened?" asked Elena, noticing blood at the corner of his mouth. She reached out to wipe the blood away, but Damon pulled away avoiding her entirely.

"Hey, hey! Nothing happened!" exclaimed the vampire. "Mason and I simply had a misunderstanding."

She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and sighed. "So we're two steps behind square one, now?"

"Maybe four?"

"Great. Just great." Sighed Elena, sitting back down.

"Hey, I didn't exactly see you offering any action-suggestions!" Damon's temper was flaring, and he certainly was not in the mood to argue. "I'm gonna go talk to Alaric, and then I'm leaving."

"He's probably busy taking care of –"

"Bye Elena," called Damon from the top of the stairs.

Walking passed Jenna's closed door, the vampire made his way to Jeremy's._ I could definitely use some boyfriend time right about now_, he thought. He knocked twice on the door and waited.

No answer.

Damon rapped his hand against the door once more, awaiting for Jeremy to swing it open, and eventually cause Damon to distance himself from the failure that had occurred just minutes before. However, much to his dismay, there was still no answer. "I hope you're not naked," said Damon, grasping the door knob. "Pft. Who am I kidding?" A smiled danced across his face as he pushed the door open, making his way into the bedroom.

Gazing around, he quickly noticed that Jeremy wasn't in the room, and if he was –

A figure emerged from behind the door and tackled him, pushing him on to the bed. "Took you long enough to break away from them." Smiled Jeremy, swinging a leg over his boyfriend.

Damon chuckled, bringing his arms behind his head. "I totally knew you were hiding behind the door."

"See, now," started Jeremy as he knelt down, pecking Damon on the lips. "I really don't think you knew – vampire or not." Sneaking his hand underneath Damon's shirt and up his chest, Jeremy deepened the kiss.

"Oh really?" Damon said through the kiss.

"Nnn."

A laugh escaped the vampire as he swiftly flipped Jeremy onto his back, assuming the dominant position. He pinned the younger man's arms down by the wrists – like he had done so many times before. "That's better." He said, sexy grin in tow.

Their lips met once more and they continued what was interrupted back in the kitchen. Damon ended the liplock and began trailing Jeremy's neck with kisses. A moan escaped the younger man as the vampire settled on a stationary spot. Jeremy closed his eyes and began to rock against Damon, who was now pleasing the other side of his neck.

"Ummm, Damon," he breathed.

Now kissing his boyfriend's collarbone, the vampire replied,"Umm-huhh?"

"As much as I, ohhhh – As much as I like this –"

"Yeah?" asked Damon, trailing kisses along the nape of the younger man's neck.

"The door's wide-open."

Damon stopped and sat up, now straddling Jeremy. He glanced through the doorway into the hallway. _Well, damn_, he thought.

"I'm all for some lovin', but I'm soooo not for Elena, or somebody else walking by." Said Jeremy, far from keen on ending their making out for yet another time in the past hour.

Damon got up and walked across the room, and closed the rest of the world off. Locking the door, he said, "See, had you been really skilled, you would've had the door locked before I even hit the bed."

Smiling, Jeremy sat up, "Is that so? Care to show me how it's done?" Damon returned to the bed, and sat on the edge, inches away from Jeremy.

"Maybe even a few other things if you're good." Offered the vampire, wicked ideas now brewing in his mind, as his fingers tip-toed along Jeremy's arm.

"Shouldn't I be bad, though?" Jeremy asked, biting his bottom lip.

A whine escaped the vampire. "You're making this whole waiting thing really hard for me, you know."

Jeremy scooted closer and slipped his hand under Damon's shirt, unbuttoning his jeans. He crept inside of his boyfriend's boxers, grabbed hold of his member and began stroking. "How about now?"

A moan escaped the vampire. "So, so …sooooo bad." He grabbed Jeremy's face, bringing him closer. "Can we just forget that we agreed on waiting?" pleaded Damon.

Jeremy stared the vampire in the eyes, "But, that would take out the fun of the tease, now wouldn't it?" His gaze moved to Damon's lips. Oh, how he wanted to just throw him down against the bed and just have his way with him. _Wait – was that? What was that?_ His hand stopped its stroking, "Is that blood?" _How did I not see that before?_

"What?" asked Damon, confused. "Blood? Where?"

"On your lip. Why's your mouth so red?"

Damon sighed, wiping the edge of his mouth, "You'd think that that would've been gone by now." He leaned back slightly, propping himself up with his arms.

"Did you get into a fight with Mason?" asked Jeremy, removing his hand from the vampire's boxers.

"Some people say 'fight'; I say 'friendly complication of word usage'." Replied the vampire, offering a weak smile.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened." Damon sat back up, and cupped Jeremy's face, "Come on, let's just forget about it." He pressed his lips to Jeremy's, but the younger man pushed away.

"No, stop. What happened?" Jeremy asked once more, his voice and worry rising in correlation.

"It doesn't concern you!" snapped Damon, his voice filled to the brim with stoicism.

Jeremy stood up, "Yes! Yes it does concern me! My boyfriend is getting into a fight with a werewolf! Didn't you tell me the other day that bites from them are deadly, or something?"

"Yes, but what I do, especially in regards to this particular situation – it's none of your business."

His words stung Jeremy like a slap across the face, "Oh." Realizing what he had said, Damon rushed over to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around him.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's not what I meant!"

"Really? 'Cause it sure sounded crystal clear to me." Said Jeremy, resting against Damon's chest – his arms hanging by his sides. "I'm starting to feel like all we're doing is fooling around, still."

"No, don't say that. I meant…What I meant was that I don't want you to have to worry about it or get involved." Said Damon, kissing the top of Jeremy's head.

The younger man looked up to Damon, "But, we're – we're dating now. You hurt, I hurt…or whatever that stupid adage is. We're in this together; and, if you're off fighting a werewolf, then so am I."

"I don't want to take the risk that you'll get hurt, or be a casualty." Grimaced Damon as Mason's threat echoed back in his mind.

"Well, I don't want you going after a werewolf by yourself." Jeremy's arms wrapped around the vampire. "I don't want to lose you now that I have you." The two stood there in silence as they mulled over their respective responses. Damon tightened his embrace as Jeremy buried himself against the vampire's chest.

"I guess I'm still learning how to navigate this whole relationship thing," said Damon, breaking the silence. "This is all pretty new, you know. I've been on my own for so long that…it's not natural for me to have to think about somebody else for a change, too. But, I'm going to try harder – I promise."

Jeremy looked up at him, "Mean it?"

Breaking their embrace, Damon cupped Jeremy's face once more. "Yes, and I'm sorry." He knelt down, bringing his lips to Jeremy's. However, much to his dismay, he wouldn't be able to keep this promise to Jeremy. So long as Mason Lockwood gallivanted about Mystic Falls, Damon would not be able to rest. And, now that the werewolf had threatened Jeremy's safety, he was just going to have to be all the more careful.

The kiss deepened as Damon tried to convey just how important Jeremy was becoming to him.

* * *

Damon Salvatore tended to his wounded pride with another shot of whiskey. Between having been beaten to the floor by Mason Lockwood and having to lie to his boyfriend about his extraneous activities, he was not in the least bit ecstatic. However, he was hoping Jeremy would be interested in going out to dinner later that evening_. Maybe even a movie afterward_, he thought; a smile danced across his face as he yearned to be by Jeremy's side once more.

The door to the grille opened, as it had twenty times before in the past hour, causing Damon to ready himself for anything. He could feel Mason Lockwood. _The bastard_. He turned away from the bar and scoped out the restaurant. "Where are you, you prick?" he asked himself aloud.

"Right beside you." Smiled Mason, standing to the vampire's left.

Damon let out a chuckle, "Oh, Mason. It's nice to see that you have the balls to stand, oh, so close to me."

Taking a seat, Mason patted Damon on the back, "It's cute to see that you have the balls to act big and bad after I mopped the floor with your ass – in your widdle boyfwend's hwoose." Mason mocked him as he downed the shot the bartender had just left for the vampire.

Damon turned around and sat back down. "I appreciate that you think you can pay homage to my sarcastically witty mocking, but I'm going to have to ask you to stop." He glared at the werewolf .

"Or what? You'll stab me with another silver knife?" laughed Mason. "As hysterical as your attempt was, I just want to remind you that Jeremy's safety in all of this is directly correlated with your behavior. You stay in the green, and, hey, the two of you get to screw another day! But, you step out of line, and the only things that will be screwing are the nails on his coffin." He paused. "Nailed, oh well. Bad joke, but still – the point is ever-so-clear."

Damon gritted his teeth as he summoned every ounce of strength in his body to resist punching the werewolf squarely in the face. "Don't you dare bring Jeremy into this!" Damon growled – quiet enough to prevent those around them from eavesdropping, but loud enough to convey his anger.

Mason looked Damon in the eyes, "I don't think you're in the position to be making demands here. Well, I'm gonna go. Maybe I'll go take a visit to Jeremy; maybe I won't? Thanks for the drink!" He stood up and began making his way to the –

Damon's fist rushed through his chest as the werewolf's hear t thudded out its final beats in his grasp, blood dripping to the floor.

"_AH_!" cried the vampire as he shot up, awakening from his all-too-real dream. He glanced to the body sleeping beside. Gazing at Jeremy made him forget about all of the bullshit that leaving the emotional switch 'on' seemed to bring about. He snuggled back up against his boyfriend and wrapped his arm around Jeremy's waist. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He murmured, kissing the younger man on the cheek.

_Something has to be done_, thought Damon. He could not let Mason Lockwood flaunt around Mystic Falls tempting Jeremy's safety. _The ring! Mason is supernatural, and the ring will protect him!_

The realization eased some of his worry, but not enough for him to sleep soundlessly. Something would need to be done indeed.

* * *

The waning moonlight glowed dimly against the starless sky while two figures stood underneath the privacy of one of the many weeping willows littered throughout Mystic Falls. Despite being the only people outside, however, they maintained a hushed sense of urgency.

"You're serious?" asked the vampire incredulously, her interest piquing. She bit her finger seductively hoping to receive more details regarding the confession all the while baiting the werewolf further into her trap.

"Far from it, Katherine." Replied Mason Lockwood, who was now falling head over heels for the bait the vampire was setting out. "Damon Salvatore is, indeed, _dating_ Jeremy Gilbert. And, the kicker: Damon is pretty invested in this kid."

Katherine's eyes lit up in rage. _How could Damon have feelings for this man? This boy?_ Had it not been for the darkness of the night, Mason would have seen the fury in the vampire's eyes. "Well, this is surely interesting. We just may be able to have a little fun after all." Said Katherine as she regained her composure.

Mason chuckled, "Yeah, you should have seen the look on his face when I threatened his little boyfriend."

"You threatened him?" asked Katherine. She was unsure if she was pleased with Mason's threat, or upset that this very extracurricular activity could very well stand in the way of her obtaining the moonstone to break the curse.

Mason cleared his throat, "It was mostly empty. The threat anyways." Much like Katherine, herself, he couldn't tell if she was pleased or upset with what he had just said.

"No, no, no. This could be good." Smiled Katherine, mulling over the possibilities. "We just may be two steps closer to reaching our goal. If we go after little Jeremy, we can send Team Good-for-Nothing on an endless distraction so we can continue searching for the moonstone." Hearing Katherine formulate their plan of attack excited Mason; it excited him to the point that he couldn't keep to himself. He reached out to caress her, but she swatted his hand away.

"Tsk, tsk," she admonished.

The werewolf gazed at her longingly. "You know you can't hold out on me forever."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong. I've got immortality on my side." She replied with a devilish grin. And, besides, I've already told you." Sighed the vampire. "You get the moonstone, we end the curse. Everybody wins."

Mason hesitated before speaking, "I have this gut feeling like you're not letting me in on the whole plan."

Katherine closed the distance between the two of them, and gently tapped him on the nose, "That's what's so fun about werewolf and vampire alliances." Replied Katherine pressing her lips to his.

* * *

The next morning, Jeremy stirred from his slumber grabbing aimlessly at the air. "Damon?" He sat up and realized that he was alone_. I liked it better when he stayed the entire night_. "Oh, well." He stretched his arms out as far as he could and yawned, furthering his morning 'waking-up-ritual'. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed there was a stray piece of paper taped to his door.

He clamored out of bed, not wanting to abandon its comforts. Picking up the note, he immediately saw Damon's name signed at the bottom. And, to be perfectly honest, he expected there to be a heart doodled next to it. _Oh, if only_, he thought.

_Jere,_

_Sorry to leave in the middle of the night, but I had to go take care of some things. Don't worry – none of them involve actively going after Mason Lockwood. _

_We should go out tonight. Maybe dinner?_

_-Damon_

_Dinner?_ "A date?" asked Jeremy aloud.

"Did you say 'date'?" called Jenna from the other side of the locked door. "Why's the door locked? Oh my sweet – IS DAMON IN THERE RIGHT NOW!"

_Shit!_ In a panic, Jeremy called "One second!" He opened the closest drawer and buried the note inside, closing the hiding place immediately after. He quickly glanced around to make sure there was no evidence of his boyfriend's presence so that –

"JEREMY! IF YOU DON'T ANSWER IN TWO SECONDS…I'M – THINGS WILL GET VERY SERIOUS AND PARENTAL!"

Swiftly unlocking the door, Jeremy swung it open and greeted Jenna, "Hey, sorry about that. Just, er, woke up."

His aunt eyed him curiously. "Where's Damon?" She could handle the fact that her nephew was getting close and comfy with another man, but she was not ready to embrace the fact that the man in particular was Damon – the one man that she could not stand. Ever.

"He's not here?" replied Jeremy almost as if he, too, were asking where the vampire had disappeared to.

"Look, Jeremy, sweetie, I realize that I was very incapacitated –"

"You were wast –"

"YES! I was drunk off of my ass! There! I said it." She cleared her throat and made her way into the room. She eyed the bed cautiously as her mind wandered. She could only imagine what kind of things had happened on this bed. _Teenager_… _Boyfriend_. She sighed and sat down. "All booze aside, I think we need to have … the talk."

Jeremy stared at his aunt. "Er, I don't think that's necessary, Jenna. My dad…he already handled that one years ago."

"Yeah, but that was when you were strictly…not dickly." She smacked her palm to her forehead. "I keep forgetting that I have to censor what I say around you! Either way, I just think we should discuss the fact that while I'm super-cool with you having a boyfriend and bringing him over…I'm just not entirely comfortable with him staying the night just yet."

"But, Jenna –"

"Jeremy, sit." Ordered Jenna, motioning to the floor. "Yes, floor. Anyhow, where was I? Yeah. Um, cool – boyfriend – totally hip with him coming over – Ah! Please, please, don't have your boyfriend stay the night whenever I happen to be stupidly drunk."

"So, I can have him over when you're smartly sober?"

"YES!" exclaimed Jenna. However, immediately she processed what was just said. Tossing a pillow at her nephew, she continued, "Cute, very cute, but no. I just think we should approach this with a little maturity. You can have him over. Hell, I'll even let you close the door!"

"You're being a little too cool with this…"

Jenna smiled, "I'm not finished. The door stays _un_locked. I'm not giving you permission to get all sexually-touchy, but I'm not going to be one of those crazy parental figures who completely bans it."

"Then, what's the catch?" he asked. "Other than the constant thought that you'll barge into my room at any given time, of course."

"That's the catch. Well, that and the fact that I don't approve of this union."

"What?"

"Why Damon?" asked Jenna, dropping her serious demeanor. "I mean, I know you're my nephew, but you had to pick the worst person in all of Mystic Falls to get close and personal with? You couldn't just sexy-text with somebody from the internet?"

"Sexy-text?"

"Hey! Don't judge my illogical perversions of your generation's lingo!" exclaimed Jenna trying to stifle a laugh. "In all seriousness, though, just be safe. Don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Take things slow, yadda, yadda, yadda."

"Jenna?"

"Yeah?"

Jeremy smiled, "You don't need to worry."

"I don't?" asked Jenna, a little dumbfounded.

"No, Damon and I have already talked about taking things slow, making sure everything means something, the works."

"You have?" Jenna couldn't believe this. Had this been Elena, she could definitely see a planned itinerary of the relationship's course of events, but definitely from Jeremy. "You keep surprising me, kiddo."

"Well, maybe you should give Damon another chance – he just may surprise you too." Replied Jeremy. However, Jenna scoffed at the idea. "C'mon Jenna. I really like him, and he's – he's good to me. As clichéd as that sounds." He smiled.

"When'd you grow up?" asked Jenna. "Come here!" She stood up and waved for him to come to her. "Gimme a hug!"

Jeremy complied and wrapped his arms around his aunt. "Don't worry. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Oh, well now you've jinxed it!" exclaimed Jenna breaking their embrace. "Way to go, loser!" She made her way to the door. "Well, good talk!" She smiled, and left his room.

"That was a close one." Sighed Jeremy.

"I heard that! And you better let Damon know that he still has to sit through a talk from me!" called Jenna who was now walking down the stairs.

_Damon_, he mused, suddenly remembering the note. "Date." He paused as the prospect of a stereotypical date ran through his mind. "What should I wear?"

* * *

While most people would find themselves enjoying the beautiful sunshine that invaded Mystic Falls, two vampires remained inside the stuffy library located inside the home of the Salvatores'. Stefan sat silently in the reclining chair as Caroline prattled on, for what felt like the thousandth time, about her disdain for Damon's relationship with Jeremy.

"I'm telling you, I don't like it." Said Caroline. "Not one bit."

Stefan's brow furrowed as he tried for the thousandth time to console Caroline and convince her to give up her repudiation of Damon's love life. "Look, it's really none of our business. And, it seems to be a positive thing for both of them."

"No, it's not. How can you say that?" asked Caroline. "And, it most certainly is my business. As Elena's best friend, I have to look out for Jeremy. And, by the way, does Elena even know what he's been up to?" Her voice was rising in pitch as she tried to further her point on why the two men should not be together. To be perfectly honest, she could give a rat's ass that it was two guys, but the fact that Damon and Jeremy were the two guys in question – that was a whole other story.

"No," admitted Stefan, "she doesn't know anything in regards to this. And, she won't either." He held her gaze, "We are not going to tell her because this is something that Jeremy will divulge to her when he's ready. Now, enough of this. Hearing you incessantly whine about the matter is really starting to get old."

Caroline huffed as she was once again told off for looking out for Jeremy. "I just don't want him to get hurt." She would rather be staked directly in the heart than admit that she still held some form of a torch for the broody vampire. Regardless of how many time he compelled her, or how he treated her, she still felt a form of love for him – whether or not it was legitimate or not was irrelevant to her. What mattered was that he was finding happiness with Jeremy – a happiness that she couldn't give him when they had 'dated'.

"I don't think he will," began Stefan as he scooted to the edge of his seat. "This seems to be a very positive thing for the both of them. Jeremy isn't trying to become one of us, he's less – "

"Emo?"

Stefan nodded, "-emo. And, Damon, well, he sure seems to be in an eternally better mood, for lack of an odder description."

"And, I'd be a thousand suns happier if the two of you weren't discussing my love life." Said Damon, startling the two vampires.

Stefan sighed, "How much of that did you hear?"

"All of it." Said Damon, glaring at Caroline. "He's right, you know. It's none of your business."

Caroline shot daggers at him with her eyes, "Why him?"

"Again, that's none of your business." Repeated Damon. "Caroline, stop trying to fool everyone. I used you. There was no love, there were no feelings. Please stop trying to rag on my current relationship. And, for further notice: I would deeply appreciate your silence in this matter." The female vampire stood up and left. "Well, had I known that it would be that easy to get her to leave…woo." laughter escaped him until he remembered why he had come to speak with Stefan.

"What _are_ you and Jeremy doing?" asked Stefan, still pondering his discussion with Caroline.

Damon's gaze averted to the floor as he mindlessly found his way to the couch adjacent to his brother. "This is getting far more awkward than I really expected it to."

Noticing his brother's uneasiness with the matter, he quickly added, "We don't have to talk about it this should you not want to."

"No," said Damon. "I'm a big boy. Uh, well. Yeah."

"That's it?" asked Stefan.

"We're dating. Yeah, we're dating." He said aloud to the first person other than Jeremy. He tried to hide a smile that was beginning to creep its way through the edges of his mouth.

"And, you're both…happy, right?"

"Yes." Replied Damon. The two sat in silence for a moment while they digested their brotherly bonding. However, like all good things, it quickly came to an end. "Okay, so this whole sharing time…not digging it."

"Yeah, it is a little awkward." Laughed Stefan.

"Anyway, I'm actually here to talk to you about something, and potentially ask a favor of you." Damon hated himself for having to ask his older brother for help, but he wanted to ensure that Jeremy was safe no matter what.

"What's going on?"

"I need your help." Admitted Damon, mentally stabbing himself in the gut. Stefan stared at him curiously. It certainly didn't make him feel comfortable that Damon was coming to him for help; clearly, it was something big and disastrous – and, more than likely Damon's fault.

"What did you do?" sighed Stefan propping his chin against his elbow, preparing himself from the whirlwind of a story he was about to hear.

Damon didn't know where to begin, or how to for that matter. "Um, I think I'm going to go for that word vomit approach and just say things. Werewolf; Mason; we fought; threatened the safety of Je – lots of people –"

"Wait, slow down!" pleaded Stefan. "You did something stupid to Mason, didn't you?"

"I may, or may not, have tried to stab him, and clean our hands of him, myself." Said Damon, "But, now he's pissed."

"Of course he's pissed, Damon!" exclaimed Stefan. "You can't just go around stabbing werewolves. It's bad enough that we have that we're inherit enemies to begin with!"

"Yeah, I know that now."

"Now? How do you mean?"

"He sort of threatened –"

"Jeremy?" asked Stefan. Damon remained silent, only indicating that this was the case by his stoic expression. _Him coming to me – it makes sense_, he thought. "Well, he has his ring, right?"

The brunette vampire nodded, "Yeah, but I don't want that to be his only form of protection. I was hoping that should things go incredibly southward…that you'd be there to make sure he's safe. And, if not for me as your brother – then, do it for Elena because she's his sister."

"Of course," replied Stefan. "He's going to be fine. However, this Mason situation. I'm not so sure about."

"Well, I was kinda hoping that we could just go gung ho and kill him!" smiled Damon, his stress somewhat alleviated for the time being.

"See, in a parallel universe, I'd agree with you. But, seeing as that's what got you into this mess…we should definitely vie for another avenue of attack." Said Stefan, calculating what they could possibly do.

"A-ha! Attack! I like the sound of this!" exclaimed Damon. Maybe enlisting the help of his brother wasn't such a terrible idea.

Stefan stood up and waved his arms at his brother to calm him down, "Look, I'll think of something to avert Mason's anger toward you. But, you, go see him – Jeremy, I mean. Let him know that he'll be fine."

"Funny that you mention that." Damon said, letting out a series of weak chuckles. "He doesn't exactly know about the whole Mason-threatening-his-life-should-I-try-to-kill-him-thing, and he's forbidden me from going after the damn werewolf." Damon half reiterated, half mocked his boyfriend's seemingly irrational plea.

"He forbade you?" asked Stefan, blown away by Jeremy's gusto.

"Yeah, I know, right!" exclaimed Damon.

"Well, judging by the fact that Mason is still alive, I'm going to assume that you've got it bad." Said Stefan, leaving the room shaking his head at the prospect of his brother caring for another individual.

"Wait!" called Damon. "Do you mean that in a good, ha-ha, way; or, a bad, jump-ship-now, way?" Damon pondered his brother's statement, and ultimately agreed.

Regardless of how succinct their relationship had been up until this point, Damon was confident in the fact that he cared deeply for Jeremy. He was becoming his first, and last, thought each day, and his happiness, his safety, his being – it all mattered so much to him. Sure, he couldn't exactly articulate exactly how he was feeling for the younger man into concrete, definitive words, but he knew himself that he was falling head over heels.

It was scary, though. He found the whole experience to far outweigh the horrors of dying, becoming a vampire, etc. to be nothing compared to not having Jeremy in his life. He was so amazed by how much this one man was impacting him. He made feeling all the more worthwhile. And, regardless of what anyone thought, or what anyone said, he would persevere.

He would ensure that Jeremy would not want, would not hurt, and most of all: would not suffer any form of pain. _It's crazy how intense these feelings are after such a – such a seemingly short time_, he thought. Regardless, he was falling. Hard.

This boy had him running around in circles. And he enjoyed every lap.

* * *

The sun begun descending across the skyline as it started its welcoming of the night. However, Caroline could give two shits about the cycles of nature as she kicked the rocks and gravel around her, walking aimlessly through the woods. Damon had no right to say those things to her. He was totally out of line, and besides – _it's wrong of him to be leading Jeremy on. _"Ugh!" Caroline groaned, throwing her arms up in the air in exasperation_. I have Matt, and he's great, and we're great, but why can't I -? Why is he - ?_ "Why am I so hung up on this?"

"Hung up on what?" asked a voice from behind her.

Caroline jumped, which was unnatural to her due to her being a vampire, and turned around, "Elena?" _No, this isn't Elena_, thought Caroline. _The hair_. "Hello, Katherine." Her frustration quickly turned into loathing as she crossed her arms and pushed her heels into the ground.

"Nice to see you too, Caroline." Greeted Katherine, noticing the welcoming demeanor the other vampire wore.

"What do you want?" asked Caroline, though she had a very good hunch of what the snarky schemestress was up to.

Katherine held her hand to her chest in dismay, "I'm offended that you would think that I would have an ulterior motif." She teased her voluminous locks and smiled, "Word on the street is that Little Gilbert is playing house with my Damon."

Caroline's jaw clenched as she tried to mask her knowledge of the truth. "I don't know what you're talking about." She lied.

"Oh really?" asked Katherine. "Because, you're pretty close to their inner circle, and something like this could be pretty handy to a gal like me. So, I'm going to ask you again, Caroline…" Katherine closed the gap between them and grabbed Caroline's wrist and began to twist it in a fashion that was in the least bit comfortable. "Are Jeremy Gilbert and Damon an _item_?"

A welp of pain escaped the blonde vampire as she continued to hold her stance; however, the pain was becoming unbearable – vampire or not.

"Caroline…?" asked Katherine, almost mockingly.

"I don't know anything!" exclaimed the vampire once more.

"Tsk, tsk." Chided Katherine. "I think you're lying, though. And, I'm not too big of a fan of those. What to do, what to do." She released her grip on Caroline's wrist and clapped her hands together, "I know. I'll steal into Matt's bedroom later tonight and drink him drier than a drought."

Caroline's eyes pleaded to the satanic vampire, but she was having none of it. "You know how to appease me, Caroline. Going once –"

"But, I don't –"

"Going twice –"

"Katherine, please, don't –"

Katherine bared her teeth, glaring at Caroline, "Last chance."

Caroline paused as she mentally debated what her decision would be. "You'll leave Matt alone?"

"I'll consider him forgotten should you tell me your intel." A smile formed on her face as she awaited to hear Caroline's decision.

"Yes, they're supposedly dating."

"How very queer," said Katherine aloud. "Oh, I mean that in a good way."

"What are you going to do?" asked Caroline.

"That wasn't part of the deal, now was it?" the vampire winked at her and then turned to walk away. "Toodooloo Caroline. Thanks a mil'." And with that she was gone.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Panicked Caroline. Sure she wasn't the number one supporter of the Jeremy and Damon union, but she knew for a fact that Katherine had something dastardly up her sleeve. And, that was something that did not sit well with her at all.

Turning around, she raced back to Stefan's to warn him about her meeting with Katherine, and to finally come clean about spying on everyone for the vile vampire.

* * *

Jeremy stood before his mirror holding a blue button-up, as well as a black one. This shouldn't be so difficult, he thought. For hours now, he had been struggling to determine which shirt he should wear for his date with Damon, but he just couldn't decide. "This is utter torture." He sighed and threw the shirts to the floor and managed to bury himself in his closet to find a different top.

"You know what is torture – that little touch-n-stroke you pulled on me last night. That was just downright cruel." Called Damon, picking up the shirts Jeremy had just discarded. "I personally like the blue. It brings out your eyes."

Jeremy, confused and elated, could only smile at his boyfriend. He glanced at the open window and confirmed that that was the answer to how he got in. "Well, I was totally feeling the blue one, too." Said Jeremy, blushing beet red. He took the shirt from Damon and slipped it on. "So, what did you have in mind for tonight?"

"Well," exhaled Damon, sitting down on the bed, "I figure dinner would be a nice, _inteeemate _setting for us to share ooey-gooey feelings with one another."

"Oh, stop!" said Jeremy, tossing the black shirt at him.

Dodging the clothing missile, Damon continued, "And, then, I don't know. Maybe, I can take you back to my place and deflower you senseless." They both broke out into a fit of laughter as Jeremy inched his way closer to Damon.

"Oh really? But, what if I'm not thar ready to just hitch my dowry up for you and give it all away." Chuckled Jeremy, continuing the joke.

"Come here!" commanded Damon with a smile, pulling Jeremy the rest of the way, and into his lap. "We've got to stop meeting like this." Said Damon, bringing his lips to meet Jeremy's. The younger man wrapped his arms around the vampire's neck as he furthered the kiss and pushed him backward.

"Maybe you shouldn't disappear all day." Play-whined Jeremy.

"Maybe I won't." replied Damon.

"Hey Jeremy, I've got the ice cream! Did you still want to – OH JESUS!" cried Jenna. "Oh, I am _too_ old for this!" She covered her eyes with the ice cream and inched her way into the room, using her leg as a walking stick to ensure that she didn't trip. "Please tell me you're both clothed."

Jeremy moved to the other side of the bed, blushing once again, as Damon sat back up and covered his face with his hands. "We're fully clothed, Jenna." Said Damon.

"Hey! I don't wanna hear any backtalk from you, mister!" she exclaimed waving the ice cream at him.

"Jenna," began Jeremy, "Come on, put the ice cream down." She complied and dragged his computer chair in front of the two men.

"Okay, look. I know this is awkward for you. Hell, it's awkward for me, too! I've walked in on it – _twice_! And, hey, buddy, good use of that leaving-the-door-unlocked." She paused and bit her finger. "I actually think we're going to rework that one and set up a sock system? Maybe? I don't know."

Damon tried to stifle his laughter as Jenna rambled on and Jeremy blushed like there was no tomorrow. _This, this is wonderful._

"Hey! Smiles! Why so smiley!" asked Jenna.

Damon cleared his throat, "Nothing, Jenna."

"Look, I'm going to be real with you. I kind of hate you. But he – he likes you a LOT from what I gather, and I suppose I'm going to put aside my differences for that reason. However, let me find out that you hurt him, abused him – mentally, physically, or emotionally, or even damaged his Maslowe's Hierarchy of Needs…just the slightest bit of pain and I'll attack the hell out of you. You'll wish that you were some supernatural creature thing or something so that the pain doesn't hurt so much! Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Replied Damon, completely serious – and a little frightened.

"And, don't call me ma'am. It's insulting." She got up to leave and put the chair back. "Just, be a little more careful so I don't walk in on the two of you again. This is just getting awkward."

"Sure thing Jenna." Replied Jeremy.

"As you were!" called Jenna, making her way down the stairs. "Don't get pregnant!"

Jeremy shook his head, "You'd think that as a Psychology professor, she wouldn't say things like that."

"I think it's hysterical." Admitted Damon.

"You're hysterical." joked Jeremy. "Well, I'm all dressed up, so …shall we?"

"We shall!" smiled Damon, as the two stood and exited the room.

"Wanna just grab something from the grille? We could walk there." Suggested Jeremy.

"Sure." Smiled Damon, throwing his arm around Jeremy, "S'long as it's with you, I'm game for anything."

* * *

Caroline barged into Stefan's house the same way she left: loud and in a huff. The vampire stared at her – looking her up and down. "Caroline?"

"I think I might have messed up." Said Caroline, her eyes pleading for forgiveness.

"Sit down, what happened?" motioned Stefan, taking a seat himself.

Caroline fidgeted a bit as she sat down and start balling up her hands out of sheer nervousness. "Well, in a nutshell. Katherine's been blackmailing me."

"What?" roared Stefan. He stood up as his whole being filled rage at the sound of _her _name.

"Oh, God. This makes me a little worried as to how you'll react when I tell you the rest of the story." She paused, biting her lip.

"No, no. You continue." He tried to calm himself down, and took his seat once more. "Go on."

"Well, she told me that she'd go after Matt if I didn't spy on you guys, and I really don't want him involved in this. So, I would tell her stuff. And, for some reason she's interested in the fact that Jeremy and Damon are all boyfriend and boyfriend. And, to think of it, I'm actually a little more okay with the whole matter. I don't know what it was but Katherine dangling Matt in my face like that. Priorities. Wow." She smiled as she realized how revolutionary this thought was.

"Wait – what?"

"Yeah, I'm totally okay with Damon and Jeremy now. It was a little silly. And, don't worry! I can understand your shock at my sudden stance-reversal."

"No, not that! Why could she possibly want to know about the two of them?"

"Oh! See, that's the thing! I think that she's up to something! I had that same feeling!"

"Well, let's go, then!" ordered Stefan. "We've got to go look out for Damon and Jeremy and make sure everything's alright."

He surely didn't want their shared gut feeling to occur, but with Katherine one couldn't be too careful. The two vampires left the house and embarked on searching for the two men – hopefully before Katherine did. The open-ended possibilities of her wicked vendettas left an uneasiness in both of their stomachs, and it was something that would further push their drive to reach both Jeremy and Damon first.

* * *

As the two men walked to the Grille, the sky around them grew increasingly darker. The moon gleamed along the street while the usually starless skyline was littered with specs of light. To some it was a nice night to take a stroll, or a gorgeous scene; but, to Damon and Jeremy, it was just perfect.

"I still can't get over the fact that you watch _The Jersey Shore_!" exclaimed Jeremy, holding his sides because he was laughing so hard. "Isn't that the equivalent of watching and liking _Twilight_?"

"Hey, I didn't say I watched it for the plot!" Damon defended gently pushing Jeremy.

"Really now? Then just what do you watch it for?"

"I plot various ways of bleeding them." Replied Damon with the straightest face in the history of Damon faces.

Jeremy grimaced, as he attempted to determine whether or not it was appropriate to laugh. "I feel like Jenna just walked into the room."

"I made one of those gay babies, didn't I?"

"I'd certainly say so." Chuckled Jeremy. "Either way, you're solid in my book. You could eat all of MTV and I'd still love you."

"Wait, what?" asked Damon, taken aback.

"Hm?"

"What did you say?"

"I'd still love you." Jeremy repeated slowly, not understanding Damon's confusion with the statement – and then it hit him. "Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'. As much as I liked hearing it –although surprising – I thought we were taking things slowly." Pondered the vampire.

"Um, yes. Yes we are." Jeremy agreed. "Can I take it back? Can we pretend I didn't say it? And, I'll say it again later – much later – when I mean it even more?"

"Nope." Smiled Damon.

"What do you mean 'nope'?" asked Jeremy, unsure of where the conversation was going.

"Because I love you too." Said Damon. "It scares me, but it's the goddamn truth."

"I feel like this is one of those romantic movie moments." Laughed Jeremy, unsure of what to do next. "I don't know what to do next."

"I think I have an idea." Offered Damon as embraced the younger man and pressed his lips to Jeremy's.

A clap sounded behind them as echoing heels clicked filling the silence of the night. "That's so heartwarming." Smiled Katherine.

Damon rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here?" he asked, pushing Jeremy behind him.

"Oh, not too much, I just wanted to wish the happy couple – you two – warm wishes."

"You reek of a lame plan." Retorted Damon.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I swear, you all are making me out to be the bad guy."

"'Cause you are?" added Jeremy.

"I will say, Damon. You've got nice taste. But, Jeremy – don't you find it to be a little odd that he went from this…to, well, you?" asked Katherine, her voice laced with venom and malice.

"Don't listen to her, Jere." Said Damon.

"Oh, 'Jere'?" Katherine squealed. "That's cute. Don't you think so Mason?"

"Sure do." Agreed Mason Lockwood, emerging from the shadows. "Hello Damon, Jeremy. Nice to see you boys again."

"Oh, look, the two biggest wastes of supernatural entity have banded together. This should be good." Mocked Damon.

"Damon, sweetie, now's not the time for joking." Katherine warned.

"Really? Why's –"

Katherine rushed passed Damon and tackled Jeremy to the ground. "AH!" he screamed as his shoulder hit the pavement, tearing through his blue shirt.

"JEREMY!" roared Damon as he dove after Katherine.

"Not so fast!" called Mason who came up behind the vampire and jabbed him in the back with a needle filled with vervain. "How do you like this little ounce of irony, hm?"

"Damon!" cried Jeremy just before Katherine punched him in the face rendering him unconscious.

Damon fought with all of his might to resist the vervain that was now coursing through his veins. "Jere –" He took a step forward, but Mason grabbed hold of him.

"How does it feel? To not be able to stop us from doing whatever we want."

"I'll fucking kill you." Threatened Damon through gritted teeth – the vervain was practically intolerable now.

Mason shrugged. "Don't exactly know how you'll do that…" He pulled out a gun filled with wooden bullets and walked Damon over to Jeremy. He knocked the vampire to the ground and shot him five times: once in each leg, each arm, and his gut.

Damon screamed in agony! "DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" It killed him – more so than the vervain and the wooden bullets – to be just inches from the man he loved … and not be able to stop them.

Katherine knelt down next to Jeremy and poked him in the shoulder, "Touch." She giggled. "See you later, Damon." She motioned over to Mason and he complied, grabbing the unconscious Jeremy and swinging him over his shoulder.

"You take care now!" said Mason in a singsong voice.

Damon laid there helpless as the two walked away with Jeremy. Out of frustration, out of anger, out of rage, he struggled to stand up. However, after two steps he fell right back down.

"JEREMYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

**Author's Note: I'd like to note that not a single bit of canon (dialogue/scenic-wise) was used in this chapter, and only 5% was in the last one. Hopefully, you all enjoyed this one. It's actually the longest, thus far. I'll **_**try**_** to remain timely with these updates. Until next time.  
**


	6. Chapter Six: Metling Interlude

**Memento Mori**

**Disclaimer: **_**The Vampire Diaries **_**wasn't created by yours truly.**

**Author's Note: Thanks for sticking around; I will continue writing this story until its completion (we've got a ways to go). **

* * *

**Chapter Six: Melting (Interlude)**

Fear and worry filled Jeremy as he began to regain consciousness, completely unaware of where he was, let alone how he had even arrived there. His eyes strained to adjust to the omnipresent darkness, but failed after numerous attempts to make out his surroundings. He didn't like this, he didn't like it one bit. Why was he here? Why was he – _I'm shackled!_ He tried to lift his hands above his head, but was unable to do so due to the fact that he was, in fact, chained to the ground. Upon realizing this, he felt two similar confinements grasping his ankles in a similar manner. His fear spiked – his heart raced. "Damon, _where are you_?" he murmured.

He patted his hands against the ground and scooted forward, hoping to find something – anything. _Damon. Where was Damon? Why wasn't he here? _Adrenaline coursed through his body as his fear dominated his every thought.

"What's going to happen to me?" asked Jeremy, aloud – much more audible this time around. He could feel his heart beating a mile a minute – he could hear the _ba-bump, ba-bump_ pounding in his ears as if it were an outside occurrence.

A light clicked on from across the room as a voice spoke, "It's about time you woke up." Mason Lockwood crossed his arms as he watched the younger man shield his eyes from the sudden light. "It's a little interesting how you're more invested in your boyfriend's whereabouts than your own safety." He stood and strolled over to the chained prisoner. "Because, if I were you, I'd be a little more intrigued as to what was going to be happening to me." He knelt down before Jeremy who had now backed away to where he had initially woken up. "So, do you? Do you want to have a little teaser into what we have in store for you?"

Jeremy shot the werewolf a seething look, "I'm not afraid of you."

"Well," Mason began, standing up, "I really think you should be." He turned to walk away as Jeremy averted his gaze to his shackles. "Oh, and one more thing –" He swung himself around, kicking Jeremy in the face. Had he not been chained to the ground, Jeremy surely would have flown quite a few feet, but instead, the shackles limited his movement and dug into his wrists and ankles.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" cried Jeremy as his body registered the pain from the werewolf's attack, as well as the new pain that was forming from the chains' grip. He curled up, trying to retreat into himself, as a few whimpers escaped him.

Kneeling down, once more, Mason finished, "Try not to black out on me." He smiled at the younger man as he smacked him – lightly, this time- against the cheek. "Now, you enjoy yourself some solitude while I disappear for a few. And, with that, he made his way to the light and switched it off. Darkness flooded the room once more as Mason exited it.

Now that the werewolf was gone, and he was alone, Jeremy allowed the tears to stream down his face. "Damon…" he whimpered. Silence echoed around him, but was interrupted by his jagged breathing and dripping wrists. He hugged his arms to his chest as he felt the warm liquid seep through his shirt. _Blue!_ Suddenly he remembered that he was wearing the blue shirt that Damon liked. They were supposed to be enjoying their date right now – he shouldn't be here. Where was Damon?

Jeremy chided himself for going damsel in a situation such as this, but what other choice did he have? He was nothing more than a mere human, teenage boy. What possible strategy did he have that could warrant his freedom? _Nothing_. He hated that he had to leave this burden upon Damon's shoulders, but what other choice, what other avenue of escape was there? His thoughts swirled around inside of him like a storm while he hid in the eye of it all, hoping to find refuge from the maelstrom that was threatening to tear away at his very being.

Despite his soreness, Jeremy attempted to move once more; however, he only managed to crawl his way along the dirty floor. The chains clanked as the younger man reached his limit, but he refused to stop moving. The metal dug deeper into his already bleeding wounds as an anguished scream escaped him. Unable to handle pain, his body fell limp as his motivation to escape diminished entirely. Erratic breathing and mind-numbing dripping pervaded the silence around him once more.

He strained to see through the darkness, but he was no superhuman. He was limited, weak.

* * *

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" roared Damon as he effortlessly tossed Caroline across the library. The splintering of the shelf echoed throughout the room as the female vampire's body crashed against it. She fell to the ground, and was quickly followed by the volumes that had once rested peacefully along the bookshelf.

Twelve hours had passed since Jeremy was abducted by Katherine and Mason, but to Damon it felt like days. He felt that he should feel the teensiest bit more grateful toward Caroline for helping him, but he couldn't find a kind bone in his body at this moment in time. His boyfriend was God-knows-where having God-knows-what done to him. He would thank her and Stefan for coming to his rescue mere minutes after the attack, but for now he would just continue to lash out until Jeremy was found.

"Ow," she whimpered, standing up and brushing herself off. "Damon, I swear – I didn't think that they would take Jeremy!"

He rushed to her and punched her squarely in the cheek. She reeled over and touched her palm to her face. "Oh, but you knew something 'bad' was going to happen! That's what you told Stefan, wasn't it?" He threw his leg backward and swung it forward, kicking Caroline in the gut. The force alone shot the vampire into the ceiling. However, as the laws of gravity mandate, all things that go up must come down. The blonde plummeted into the floor before the vampire, whose palette for revenge was nowhere near satiated. The vampire stared at Caroline, who now lay sprawled along the ground, fuming with hatred. Hatred for her; hatred for Katherine and Mason; hatred for himself. He should have stopped them – he should've kept Jeremy safe. But, instead – what was wrong with him? He was well aware of the fact that being a vampire intensified every feeling, but this was just too much. It was starting to hurt him to feel.

_How can Stefan do it? _He pondered his own brother's strength as he witnessed his own spiral out of control. He felt that to be an apt description of his handling of the situation: a spiral out of control. He had none. Damon was not used to feeling, not used to caring. Every horrible emotion that he could fathom was jittering inside of him, and he was unable to break free as they plucked him along – a puppet on its marionette.

"Damon," pleaded Caroline. "Please, just listen to me."He stared at her, almost absentmindedly. He could just barely hear what she was saying. Everything felt muffled – he felt cut off from the world around him. She stood up to face him. "I mean it; I didn't think they'd do anything like this."

"I believe you." Said Damon solemnly, his fists now at his sides. "All you did was tell them that Jere and I were –" He directed his gaze toward the ceiling, desperately trying to turn his emotions 'off'.

"Then why –"

"Because you've always been a ready punching bag!" exclaimed the vampire, coldly. He wanted her to shut up! Had she been human, he would have easily been able to tear into her jugular and kill her, but now she was a vampire, like him – an equal. _No, she was no equal_. Damon was vile, cruel, and most times up for a joyride down to the dark side, but he would never sell out someone he cared for – never – regardless of how inexperienced he was to the concept.

His words slapped Caroline harder than any of his anger had. She was not going to take this – not anymore. It was one thing to take his abuse when he could compel her, but now she was a vampire – now she felt nothing but empowerment as she strived to be a better person to mask her immortality. She took a step toward him and placed her hand on his shoulders. "I'm only going to do this because I care." Using every ounce of strength in her body, she threw Damon across the room – the same way he had done to her. Caroline walked over to where he his body lay and picked him up by the throat – positioning him against the adjacent wall.

Had Damon been human, he probably would have been thrashing about and scratching at Caroline's arm, but he had no desire to fight back anymore. It was futile. He had failed to protect the one thing that was important – the one thing that he cared about – and it killed him_. I should just –_

* * *

_A month prior…_

Turning the faucet on, the vampire placed his hands underneath the pouring water and splashed it upon his face. Damon ran his hands through his hair, and sighed. "What are you getting yourself into?" he asked himself. Turning the water off, he grabbed for the towel he had placed on the counter and patted his face. He pondered at what it was he was doing; why on earth was he letting this charade continue?

He was Damon Salvatore: a vampire spurned by Katherine AND Elena; yet, here he was having sex with Jeremy Gilbert, her younger brother, for kicks. Sure, they had both vowed that it was a means to fill the void, but it just felt like it was becoming more. And, Damon certainly wasn't sure if he was ready for that. Besides, Jeremy…he was a guy. The vampire paced back and forth in the bathroom as he contemplated his next move. He couldn't allow this to go on; he had to end it.

_It was the right thing to do, right_? "Gah!" he exclaimed, grabbing fistfuls of his own hair. He was starting to grow a tolerance to the younger man, and he knew that that was most definitely going to be the domino effect toward his downfall. Should this go on, he would most certainly fall for Jeremy and things would get ooey-gooey-Elena-Stefan-lovey. He did not want that. He was Damon Salvatore – not some neutered puppy going googly eyes over a walking bloodbag. It was against everything he stood for – discounting the fact that he did fall for Elena, of course. _And look how that turned out_, he mused.

Standing still with his hands balled into fists at his sides, Damon stared at the door. "C'mon, Damon. Walk out the door. Break it off with the kid. No harm, no foul." He took a step toward the door, but hesitated. What if Jeremy doesn't take it well? What if he tries to go off of the deep end again? Elena would certainly find a way to blame it on him and –

"What the fuck!" exclaimed the vampire, throwing his arms up in annoyance. _Why did it even matter? Who cares if he gets upset?_ "I'm getting soft. Over some punk kid. Balls." He smacked himself in the face a few times, "C'mon. Stop this. Knock it off. He's a human – the brother of the girl who stepped on your beatless heart with the heel of her shoe so she could snuggle up with YOUR brother. You're a vampire who doesn't care about human sentiment, and you definitely don't give a fuck about consequence. Besides there's a large quota of stupid people to maim and feed off of, and a romantic entanglement of any sort would just get in the way of that. So –" He paused, glancing into the mirror. He was smiling. When did that – ? He pondered as to why he was grinning. Elena still hated him; Katherine wasn't rotting in hellfire; and he was still very much alone in his immortal life. _So, why?_

And, then it hit him – _The kid_, he thought. "This is what I get for letting that damn switch go on. That, and agreeing to this whole friends-with-loads-of-orgasmic-benefits in the first place." _No. This has to end_. Regardless of the fact that this may very well be what was bringing him the slightest bit of happiness. It didn't matter. He walked the rest of the way to the door and firmly grasped the handle, turning it. He stepped back into his bedroom and caught glimpse of a large lump on the left side of the bed. Jeremy.

The vampire made his way to Jeremy's side of the bed and cleared his throat. _Now, or never._ He reached to grab the younger man's arm, but hesitated as Jeremy turned over – now facing him. Damon mentally chided himself for having second thoughts. A snore escaped Jeremy as he turned onto his side, still facing the vampire. "Damnit." Whispered Damon, trying not to wake…his lover. He was seeing Jeremy in a new light. No longer was he Elena's younger brother, who has had his fair share of turmoil; he was a handsome young man who was desperately in need of someone to help him from falling off of the edge, someone to be there and love him. A smile invaded Damon's face once more as his gaze on the sleeping man prolonged. Maybe, just maybe, he could let this play out a little longer. _What's the worst that could happen?_ _It's not like I'm going to fall for him_, thought the vampire as he laughed hoping to hide his own worry that he would be dead wrong.

Damon walked around to the other side of the bed, and crept back in to it. Pulling the cover over him, he snuggled up closer to Jeremy and wrapped an arm around him. Regardless of his worries, his inhibitions, he didn't care - he felt a strange comfort from holding the younger man in his arms. _What's the worst that could happen_, he contemplated once more as he gently placed his head against Jeremy's.

* * *

"Now, I'm going to ignore that comment because I understand that you're upset." Said Caroline, breaking him from his thoughts. "But, let me tell you, should you disrespect me like that again, I _will_ stake you, myself, Damon Salvatore – whether or not you're stronger than me." She glared at him as he gazed wandered; Caroline punched him in the gut with her free hand, "Are you listening to me!"

He coughed impulsively, "Yes – how can I not when you're is bitching gnawing away at the sanity I'm barely clinging on to?" He rolled his eyes as he dangled inches above the ground.

"Drop the sarcasm - no, drop the shit! Stop feeling sorry for yourself! It's not cute, and it's certainly not doing anybody any good – _especially_ Jeremy!"

"Don't you say his name!" ordered Damon.

"Jeremy, Jeremy, JEREMY!" taunted Caroline.

Damon pried her hand from his neck with ease and jettisoned her against the shelf she stood before. "SHUT UP!"

The two glared at one another as the distance between them was filled with tension and frustration. "You beating yourself – and me – up _isn't_ going to help him. We've got to do something!"

"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW!" exclaimed Damon, his voice raising. He didn't know how he could make his worry – his hurt – any clearer to Caroline. He knew that Jeremy's rescue was of the utmost priority. Hell, he wanted Jeremy back – safe in his arms – more than anyone! But, he didn't know where to start; he didn't know where they could have hidden him_. God, I hope he's still –_

"I do, but this little fistfight…it's getting us nowhere." Said Caroline softly. She closed the distance between them slightly as she stepped forward. "You need to pull yourself together so we can go get him back."

"I don't think I can." Mumbled Damon as his eyes fell to the floor. The emotions began to thrash about once more as he tried his hardest to rein them in. He felt every shade of anger imaginable. Worry pulsated through his veins. Sorrow emanated from his being. He wanted, more than anything, to just turn it _off_. He couldn't handle this – he was no Stefan. "I don't want to feel."

"No, don't say that!" exclaimed Caroline. "That, that's what makes us different from _them_! We've got the balls to feel it all. We'll erase the cause of the problem, but – whatever you do – don't ever stop feeling." She placed her hand to his chest, just above where his heart resided, dormant. "We'll find Jeremy, and bring him home."

"That's all I want." Said Damon as he fell to his knees before her. "I just want him back." Caroline lowered herself to his level and wrapped her arms around him. "I just want him back." He repeated as he placed his arms around Caroline in return, squeezing tightly.

"Shh, let it out." Said Caroline. "We'll get him back; don't you worry." She rested her head against his as she rubbed his back.

For the first time, in a long while, Damon openly cried. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had done it – probably centuries – but, he couldn't resist doing so as the severity of the situation weighed even heavier on his mind. He had never felt this helpless – this human. It felt as though his supernatural specialties were being contradicted by his paralyzing emotions. He felt like he couldn't breathe, but he knew that that notion was ridiculous.

He would get Jeremy back, and then he would ensure that not a single thing, human, or other creature of the night would lay a finger on his boyfriend – let alone contemplate it – again. "I just want him back…" he repeated once more."

"I know. We will, we'll get him back. Bonnie will do the locating spell, and we'll get him back." Comforted Caroline. She glanced around the room surveying the wreckage their fight had caused_. I don't think this library, let alone Damon, can handle Jeremy missing for another second._

* * *

"Jeremy?" a voice called, stirring him from his half-sleep. His eyes fluttered a few times as he adjusted himself to the light. "Jere? Are you awake?" He felt a slight tap against his check as the figure above continued to pull him back into the land of the waking.

Was he dreaming? Or, did he just wake from the nightmare? Nothing felt entirely real, yet – it was all still so iffy to him. "E-Elena?" asked Jeremy, struggling to retain his grip on reality. Yes, it was her; he was sure of it.

"You've been sleeping for hours!" she laughed. "It's about time you wake up. Come on, Damon's been downstairs waiting for you." A smile played across her face.

"Damon?" his spirits soared as the thought that his capture was nothing but a horrid dream seemed to become a reality. He shot up but was pulled back downward by the metal clasped around his ligaments; he made a _thud_ sound as he fell back on to the floor. Now awake, his body felt the soreness from before, "But?" Now that Elena – no _Katherine_ – was out of his immediate line of sight, he could make out the cracked ceiling, the dirty floors all around him, and now a vampire caught in a fit of hysterical laughter.

"You'll fall for just about anything, won't you Jere-Jere?" laughed Katherine. She sat down in the chair across from him and placed her hands into her lap. "I mean, it's perfectly understandable for you to fall for the familiarities, but…the look on your face – priceless."

Jeremy balled his fists and banged them against the ground as if he were in the middle of nothing but a mere temper tantrum. "Go away." He felt juvenile – pathetic. He was trapped at the mercy of a psychotic vampire and her puppy dog, and there was nothing he could do to alter that.

"Or what?" asked Katherine. "You'll make me pay?" She teased her hair and crossed her legs. "Now, let's have a little girl-talk. That doesn't offend you, does it?"

The younger man refused to answer Katherine, let alone play her games. He focused his gaze upon the ceiling, all the while wishing that he were with Damon and not trapped in this hellish situation, but instead was reminded yet again of his morality.

"Well, judging by your silence, I'm going to go with 'no'. Anyhow, Damon…he's a real stag in bed, isn't he? Now, I will admit, though I am – and have – been trying to win back Stefan, I will always regard Damon as one of the best lays I've ever had. Don't you think?"

"You don't deserve to say his name." spat Jeremy, his gaze still fixed above him. Katherine jumped atop of him and placed her hand around his throat, her luscious, hazel locks of hair grazing his cheek.

"Now, you remember that you're really in no position to be rude, don't you? Seriously. Kidnapees these days, no respect." Katherine sighed as she slightly tightened her grip around Jeremy. "Where's Damon, hm?" He coughed as her grip limited his oxygen intake. "You'd think he would have been here by now…you know, because he loves you, oh, so, so." She taunted.

"Katherine," Mason chided. "He's no use to us dead." He stepped down the stairwell and took residence in the chair. He was not fond of tempting Damon Salvatore, to be particularly honest. He just wanted to break the curse, ultimately freeing him of the hindrance of the moon. But, Katherine's wiles seemed to be getting the better of him these days.

She chuckled as she released her hold on the human's neck – however, she remained atop of Jeremy, straddling his waist. "Well, he's really not that much use to us alive, either, now is he?"

"You and I both know he's here to distract – not to serve as our own death sentences." Warned Mason. He knew all too well that the second Damon caught wind of their location, he'd come in and rip both of their hearts out.

As if she were reading his mind, she deflected his worry, "Damon won't lay a hand on us…so long as we have him." She tip-toed her fingers down Jeremy's chest as he turned his head in the other direction in disgust. "You know, Jere-Jere, we could have some fun. It doesn't all have to be torture."

Mason cleared his throat and spoke, his voice laced with jealousy, "Katherine –"

"Mason, stay over there." Katherine ordered, her attention directed toward Jeremy. "What do you say, Jere-Jere?" She grabbed his chin and pulled his gaze to meet hers.

"Fuck you!" He spat in her face and struggled to pull loose from the chains, forgetting how futile the attempt was. Katherine smacked him and stood up, wiping his 'attack' off of her face.

"That was just rude. I tried being nice." Retorted the vampire. "But, no. Clearly, that isn't appreciated around here." She paused as a thought popped into her head. The vampire broke the metal clasps holding Jeremy to the floor. "See, there you go. Have at it." She turned and made her way to the stairs. "Mason, go crazy."

A smile danced across the werewolf's face as the room's only exit closed behind him. "You really shouldn't have done that."

Jeremy stood up and began stepping backward – away from the werewolf. He raised his fists before him, in defense, but he knew – almost as well as the werewolf inching closer and closer – that he was in no way ready to take on a werewolf. Mason chuckled as he watched Jeremy hit the wall and jump in surprise.

"You really think you can take me?" asked the werewolf. "Regardless, you should know, I'm really not interested in fighting you – let alone keeping you here. But, these are Katherine's orders."

Feeling ballsy – or stupid, he couldn't really differentiate between the two –Jeremy rushed at the werewolf and tackled him to the ground. Taken by surprise, Mason fell to the ground as the human had knocked him off of his feet. "I gotta hand it to you," he began, pushing Jeremy off of him as if he were a ragdoll, "that was pretty nice."

The two regained their stances and backed away from one another. "Just shut up and fight!" exclaimed Jeremy, tired of the small-talk, but certainly afraid of what was to come.

"Happy to oblige." Smiled Mason as he rushed Jeremy and punched him, smacking him back into the wall he had been against moments before.

Jeremy fell to the floor like a ragdoll. He knew trying to retaliate against the werewolf wasn't the best idea, but he knew that it would ease his pride attempting to stand up for himself. Superhuman, or not – Jeremy wouldn't sit down and accept defeat. He managed to pull himself up off of the ground, and quickly wiped the blood forming at the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. The fabric began to turn purple as the red bled into the blue. No, Jeremy would not allow himself to just take this beating. He would go down with a fight.

Starting to feel delirious, he smiled, "Bring it."

* * *

"_I'd still love you." Jeremy repeated slowly, not understanding Damon's confusion with the statement – and then it hit him –_

Damon tried to push the thought out of his mind for the time being. His gaze directed at the windowpane, he wondered what karmic justice mandated that Katherine choose last night to kidnap Jeremy. He wasn't elated that she did it, but he felt that the dramatic irony laced throughout the situation would have been slightly more tolerable had they not vocalized their feelings. He mentally chided himself. That's what caring for people does. It gets them killed, he thought.

Whether or not the logic was sound, he still wrestled with it. He should be doing something – sitting around feeling sorry for himself was the last thing that he should be doing. Jeremy needed him, and he was acting like an immature schoolgirl just having been dumped the night before the school's big dance.

Bonnie stepped into the Salvatore library and paused to take in all of the damage. "Was this where he was taken from?" She tucked a lock of stray hair behind her ear as she awaited Caroline's reply. The witch had tried to arrive sooner, but she tried her damnedest to work the kinks out of the spell, first.

"Actually, this was where Damon and I had a little throwdown of our own." Said Caroline, rather proud of herself. Despite the severity of the situation, it did excite her to know that she was able to not only duke it out with the vampire that had caused her the most pain she had ever experienced – sans the whole dying and becoming a vampire bit – but, she was also able to hold her ground.

Bonnie noticed the vampire's sense of pride and tried her hardest to mask the smile that was beginning to form on her lips, "I'm impressed. But, where is Damon? Shouldn't he be here for when I do the spell?"

"Oh, he's here. He's just a little…unavailable at the moment." Admitted Caroline nervously.

"What do you –"

She motioned Bonnie's gaze over to the broken bookshelves where Damon sat, gazing out of the window. He remained motionless as his unwavering eyesight fixated on the windowpane, his thoughts racing wildly within his mind. "He's been pretty out of it since our little fight."

"Will he be ready to go once I locate Jeremy?" asked Bonnie, unsure of Damon's ability to hold his own in this reconnaissance mission.

"Oh, I'm ready _now_." Replied Damon, now standing between the two women, startling them. "Are we going to do the spell, or what?"

Bonnie nodded, "I just have to set up the ingredients. But, I'm not exactly sure it'll lead us directly to him. The spell's a little iffy." She had been working on perfecting the spell so that instead of indicating a vast area, it would reveal a more precise point. Bonnie began unpacking the items in her bag to begin the preparations.

"What do you mean 'iffy'? You're a witch aren't you? Get to the fucking witching!" His eyes bulged out of his sockets as he glared at Bonnie. Despite how he knew he should be acting at the present moment in time, Damon fell backward, emotionally, as the rollercoaster took hold of his control once more. One minute he was completely lucid, but the next moment he was staring at the edge of an apocalypse – ready to jump off and end it all. This feeling frightened him; caring for another person was frightening.

"Oh, no, no, no. This is not how we're going to do this." She motioned her hand into a fist and clenched it tightly which caused Damon to grab at his stomach, growling in pain. "I am doing this as a favor to Jeremy. Don't you dare take this out on me!"

"Bonnie!" exclaimed Caroline, positioning herself between Bonnie and Damon. "Look, don't take what he says to heart…his filter for what he says is far past broken at the moment."

"I'd say," the witch, scoffed – still holding her ground, her fist still clenched. Damon flashed his fangs at her as the veins surrounding his eyes protruded. His vampiric guise took control – and, for the first time he felt grounded.

"Bonnie…"

She sighed and released her hold over the vampire. Damon grabbed the side of the table as he heaved, slowly recovering from the witch's blow. "Do you have something of his?" she asked, looking at Damon, all the while trying to suppress her hatred for him.

"One second." He replied, trying to shake away the 'vamp-face'. Regaining composure, for the most part, he exited the room.

"I hope you're able to find him, Bonnie. He's really starting to scare me." Admitted Caroline.

Bonnie glanced toward where Damon had just exited from, "Are you sure he's better now that he and Jeremy are…you know?"

"I've never seen him this unhinged before. Ever." Replied the vampire.

Damon returned with a pair of boxers Jeremy had accidentally left in the vampire's room. Caroline and Bonnie eyed the undergarment suspiciously, and then directed their puzzled looks to Damon.

In annoyance, he rolled his eyes. "They're clean. I don't just let his dirty underwear lay all over my floor." His already limited patience began to wane as the two women stared at Jeremy's boxers. "Will it do?" he asked, desperately trying to direct the subject to where it needed to be: finding his boyfriend.

Bonnie coughed, "Yep. This will do. So, just how many of these has he –"

"That is none of your business." Retorted Damon. However, in an attempt to curb his anger, he added, "But wouldn't you like to know."

Caroline snorted as Bonnie began to set up all of the ingredients for the spell. The two vampires watched as she meticulously placed each crystal and candle in specific places. Their fixed staring was starting to set her on edge, and quite frankly she wanted to be completely focused. "So, where is Stefan?" asked Bonnie in an attempt to make small-talk, breaking their concentration on her set-up.

"He's trying to make sure that Elena and Jenna don't find out about Jeremy missing." Said Damon, ashamed to have to resort to lying.

"But, isn't that –"

"One distraught person at a time, Bonnie." Interrupted Caroline, glancing at Damon.

Putting the finishing touches on the table-turned-altar, Bonnie nodded. "That makes sense." She looked to both of the vampires, "Well, here we go. Game faces everybody." She began to chant in Latin slowly, closing her eyes. The lights flickered as the chant picked up in speed.

"Is it working?" asked Damon, ready to pull Jeremy out of Katherine's clutches.

"Shh!" chided Caroline, her gaze fixed on Bonnie – who was now levitating an inch above the ground.

The candles on the table shot to life as their wicks lit brightly with elongated flames. Bonnie's voice deepened as she channeled the energies around her, while the crystalline stones began to hover over the table and circle around it.

Suddenly it all stopped – the crystals clattered to the table; the candles dimmed; and Bonnie returned to the ground. The two vampires awaited her response, as the room finished reverting back to normal.

"Well?" asked Damon, annoyed by having to wait another second.

"I know where he is." Said Bonnie.

* * *

Katherine patted the towel against her face, and stared into the mirror. "That boy. Tsk." She began to reapply her make-up as she heard various crashes and bangs from below. "Boys will be boys." A laugh escaped her as she imagined what exactly was going on down in the basement, but it also frightened her – but just slightly. Sure they had accomplished in taking the boy from Damon, but they had failed in securing the moonstone. They were just as far along in their plan as they had been before swiping Jeremy.

Katherine shrugged, applying her lip gloss. Every failure could be twisted into being a detour to success, she thought. They would get the moonstone, and she would be able to shake those blasted originals off of her trail once and for all. And, the sooner that matter –

_Wait_. She glanced around the bathroom, and then poked her head through the door. Something felt odd. She flipped the light switch and exited the room as a _ticking_ sound echoed behind her. Making her way down the stairs, she walked to the door to the basement and heard the chandelier in the foyer began to rattle lightly. So, Damon had finally found them. She opened the door and called down the stairs, "Mason, the jig is up." She feigned disappointment. Things were about to really heat up.

She heard Jeremy fall to the floor, followed by the sound of footsteps. Mason had reached the doorway and was now standing inches from Katherine. "What do you mean?"

"Damon and his posse are on their way." Replied Katherine.

"Well, how do you know?" asked Mason, refusing to believe that they had been found out.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Let's just call it a hunch. Now, get your cute little ass out of here before they get here. I've got a good ol' feeling that Damon isn't taking prisoners – and, our plan can't continue with the both of us incapacitated."

His voice began to fill with worry. "Are you going to –"

She smacked his cheek. "On one hand, I find it cute that you're worried. On the other, I'm insulted. Go." Reluctantly the werewolf obeyed her command, and left the house in a hurry. "And, now for the waiting." She closed the door and walked to the foyer. She eyed the chandelier curiously – it wasn't moving any longer – as she pulled the door open. There.

Across the way, she saw a figure making its way toward the house. "Oh, Caroline, you've been a naughty girl." Smiled Katherine.

"I don't think Caroline's who you should be worried about." Warned a voice from behind her. Katherine spun around and smiled.

"Aw, he brought the witch for a little hocus pocus!" giddy with excitement, the vampire clapped her hands together. However, she was certain team-good-for-nothing didn't know that she had a few rabbits stashed in her stylish sleeves, herself.

Bonnie balled her hand into a fist, "Premo macies hostilis pectus pectoris!" Katherine screamed in agony and doubled over in pain. Inching closer, Bonnie twisted her fist, further clenching the vampire's heart.

"Oh, God! Stop!" screamed Katherine. Bonnie eyed the vampire – something was wrong. "Seriously – stop." Pleaded Katherine, as she regained her posture and fixed her hair. "You really thought that kids' stuff would work? You witches never learn – and, now I'm insulted."

"But, that –"

"That what? That spell is weak…and, I'm starting to think that you're a little overhyped now, too."said Katherine. The vampire, now inches from Bonnie, slapped the witch across the face. "That's for thinking that piece of shit would work. And this –" Katherine punched the witch in the stomach, causing her to fly backward through the hallway. "That is just for kicks." She pulled at her blouse in hopes of avoiding wrinkles, but alas, the damage was done. "Caroline, come out and play." She invited in a sing-song voice.

Caroline shot through the doorway, tackling Katherine into the staircase just outside of the foyer. The blonde vampire pinned Katherine against the stairs and began pummeling her in the face. "Well, since we're all for vengeance now…this is for threatening Matt. This is for threatening my mom! And, this is for treating me like your messenger girl!"

Katherine laughed as Caroline's fist connected with her face, time after time. To her, this offence of theirs was amusing. Hell, she was actually hoping they'd offer more of a challenge. "Is that all you got?" She pulled her legs in and kicked the vampire in the gut – sending her backward into the wall. "I was really hoping for a little more."

Suddenly the stairs beneath her turned into what looked and felt like tar. "What the –" Bonnie re-entered the room, chanting, as Katherine began to sink into the staircase.

"Well, well, well. The witch is more than just a one-trick pony. " Applauded Katherine. "But, so am I." Katherine watched as a man rushed into the foyer throwing Bonnie to the ground. "Took you long enough."

"I figured I'd wait until you needed my help." He replied, now clenching his fist around Bonnie's neck. Now that she was no longer chanting, the tar began to materialize back into stairs, and Katherine jumped down to the floor.

Caroline lunged toward Mason to save Bonnie, but Katherine rushed in front of him. She kneed Caroline, stopping the blonde vampire in her tracks. Katherine reeled her fist back and swung it forward, connecting with Caroline's jaw. Ignoring the stinging sensation, Caroline sideswiped Katherine, and tripped her – giving her enough time to rip Mason off of Bonnie and toss him into the direction of the stairs.

Bonnie gasped for breath as she grabbed at her throat. "Caroline, where's Damon?" She glanced to Katherine who was now inching closer to them, and then Mason who was now standing back up –grabbing the railing for support. Bonnie noticed the chandelier, as the werewolf made his way down the stairs. She eyed Mason, waiting for him to get closer. "Decido!" she exclaimed, her hand executing a pulling motion. Suddenly, the wires holding the large construction snapped as the chandelier fell on top of Mason, rendering him unconscious.

Katherine glanced toward Mason, now buried underneath glass and rubble, "Well, that was certainly unexpected. I definitely retract my earlier statement of your prowess, Bonnie." She mocked the witch, clapping in appreciation. "However, I'm starting to think your magic hat is running empty." Caroline attempted to rush Katherine once more, but met the vampire's fist instead – knocking her to the floor. Katherine knelt down and grabbed Caroline's throat and lifted her up. "You two are really starting to get on my nerves." She then threw Caroline at Bonnie – who had remained stationary in an to catch Caroline. And, catch her she did. Caroline knocked Bonnie into the wall behind them; but, as they made contact, Bonnie hit her head and passed out.

"Bonnie! Bonnie, wake up!" cried Caroline, gently shaking the unconscious witch.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Caroline." Smiled Katherine. "Now, I feel as though I should ask: where is Damon?"

A crack resounded throughout the living room and foyer as the vampire was sent flying down the hallway, into the kitchen. "Honey, I'm home." Damon smiled bitterly.

* * *

**Author's Note: I find cliffhangers to be particularly exciting. Stick around, the battle's far from over. Until next time.**

**-TFulghum**


	7. Chapter Seven: Swept Away

**Memento Mori**

**Disclaimer: "**_**The Vampire Diaries**_** ain't mine, yo!"**

**Author's Note: WARNING: ****this chapter is rated M for content-heavy situations. ****Ideally, Chapters Six and Seven are one whole chapter; however, it just felt better to split them into two.**  


* * *

**Chapter Seven: Swept Away**

_Five Minutes Prior…_

Damon Salvatore landed swiftly atop the roof of the Victorian house that Katherine was keeping Jeremy in. He cringed as the thought of his weight hitting the roof alerting her of his presence came to mind, but he pushed the worry away. _Just hold out for a few more minutes, Jere_, he thought as a smile, pumped with joy and anticipation, danced across his face.

He glanced behind him and noticed Bonnie creeping into the back of the house; turning around, he saw Caroline slowly walking to up to the front. Katherine's not going to know what hit her. He crouched down to avoid completely blowing his cover and mulled over the plan once more. Although he was in favor of Bonnie's strategy to attack Katherine from all angles, one at a time, he was perfectly fine with just storming into the house and rescuing his boyfriend by himself.

But this was Jeremy – so he was going to play it safe.

Crashes and shrieks echoed from inside of the house, "Damnit." Growled Damon. It took every ounce in him to hold his post until just the right moment. _Just a few more –_

_What the -?_ Out of the vampire's peripheral line of vision, he noticed a man dash toward the house. Another bang resounded throughout the area. _Mason_. Oh, was he going to have his revenge today. Katherine and her pup would pay for their grievances.

The vampire leaped into the air and landed yards from the house; at the same time, Mason Lockwood was knocked out by the impact of a freefalling chandelier from above him. "Fuck it!" exclaimed the vampire as he darted to the house.

"Bonnie! Bonnie, wake up!" cried Caroline, gently shaking the unconscious witch. _Damon, _she thought_, now would be the time for your heroic entrance!_

"Looks like it's just you and me, Caroline." Smiled Katherine. She took two steps forward, placing her hands on her hips. "You'd think he would have shown by now – especially seeing as his number one and number two have more or less failed him. Regardless, however, I feel inclined to ask: where is Damon?"

A crack resounded throughout the living room and foyer as the vampire was sent flying down the hallway, into the kitchen. "Honey, I'm home." Damon smiled bitterly. He stepped over to Katherine, who was now struggling to stand back up. "You have something of mine." Rage bled from his voice, his eyes, his everything. The veins around his eyes protruded as he put on his game face.

"Well, you know what they say, Damon: sharing is caring." A weak laugh escaped her as she slid up against the wall - unable to run. "And, besides, it's not like he's all that special. Mason and I tried to keep him company and he kept bruising and bleeding all over –" Damon launched his fist into the wall, inches away from her face.

"Where is he?"

Katherine straightened herself up and gently nudged him backward. "Wouldn't. You. Like. To. Know?" She pushed him with every word, punctuating each word into an unnecessary staccato. He stared at her incredulously. She really had the nerve – He gripped her throat, raising her half a foot off of the ground, and clenched his fist. He was quite certain that he had met the brink of his rage earlier during his fight with Caroline, but clearly that was not the case.

"One more chance, Katherine." Warned Damon. He glared at the vampire before him – if only looks could kill.

"What time is it?" asked Katherine, smiling. She ignored his enraged eyeballs that stabbed her with empty threats and briefly looked to the door right of where they were standing, and quickly averted her eyes back to Damon – hoping that he didn't follow her gaze.

"What?"

Suddenly, the floor above them disintegrated as an explosion sounded from the second floor, rocking the house. The stairs adjacent to the two vampires blasted apart as the shockwave traveled through the house, knocking them into the kitchen. Damon slid underneath the table knocking several chairs over, while Katherine flew into the stove mere inches away. Caroline panicked and covered Bonnie as best she could so that she wouldn't be injured any more than she already was. Chunks of panel from the stairs and wall smacked Caroline in the back as three more explosions boomed throughout the house.

Disoriented, but far from injured, Katherine jumped off of the stove and darted to Mason; she lifted the chandelier off of the werewolf and lunged the construction down the hallway into Damon – who was now coming to his feet to follow after her. In any other setting, he would have easily been able to dodge the flying missile, but the narrow hallway gave him little room to move. He cursed as he watched Katherine escape, with Mason in tow, and flew back into the kitchen as the chandelier knocked him off of his feet.

Moments passed and the residual effects from the bomb had subsided. The vampire heaved the fixture off of himself and called out, "Caroline! Bonnie? Are the two of you okay?" He heard the clanking of wood against the floor followed by a few choice expletives. "Caroline?" he repeated.

"Yeah, we're good. Just a little banged up." She called back.

Standing up, Damon nodded and darted to the dangling door in the hallway. He could barely control himself as he ripped the wooden barrier off the rest of the way and pushed himself through the entrance. What he didn't account for, however, were for the stairs to have been affected by the blasts. He fell down twelve feet, and immediately sprang back up as if nothing had happened. His eyes darted across the room searching for Jeremy, but - THERE! The younger man laid, doubled over, against the wall.

"JEREMY!" exclaimed the vampire as he rushed to his boyfriend. He knelt down and pulled Jeremy into his lap, cradling him. _Something wasn't right_ – he wasn't moving. He scanned Jeremy's body and noticed a chunk of wood from the staircase buried in his abdomen. "NO!" He removed the piece as quickly, and gingerly, as he could. "No, no, no!" Placing his ear to Jeremy's neck, he checked to see if he could hear a pulse; it was faint.

As if he were working on a timer, Damon started moving in overdrive. He buried his fangs into his wrist – breaking the skin – and waited for the blood to start gushing. With his other hand, he opened Jeremy's mouth slightly, and began feeding him the blood. "Come on. Drink it. Please, drink." He pressed his wrist into the younger man's mouth harder, hoping that that would help the blood enter his system. "Don't die…please, don't die." He pulled his wrist away for a millisecond to make sure that the wound hadn't heal –

"FUCK!" he exclaimed, digging his teeth into his wrist once more – deeper this time. He held his arm to Jeremy's lips yet again and hoped that the blood would save his life. "Come on…." His eyesight became hazy as he felt warmth streaming down his face: tears. He laid his head against Jeremy's and waited – hoping to anything, and everything, that he swallowed the vampire's blood. Moments passed, but to Damon it felt like hours. He felt as if he were caught between the divide between life and death, trying to fight for Jeremy's stay with him amongst the living. He rocked to and fro as he waited for the blood to run its course and –

Jeremy clawed at the air in front of him as he gasped for air. "AHHHHHHHH!" he gasped. He sat forward and looked around, his eyes bugging out. Every sense, every sensation was on hyper-drive. He could hear Bonnie stirring upstairs; Caroline was cursing and helping the witch up; and, he could smell tears – He turned his head and saw Damon. "You came." A smile formed on his face as his own eyes brimmed with tears. He fought to hold them back as he grabbed Damon by his hair and pressed their lips together. The vampire wrapped his arms around Jeremy tightly and broke the kiss, placing his forehead to Jeremy's.

"I thought you were dead." said Damon, thankful to have reached him in time. Jeremy brought his hand to Damon's face, wiping away saltwater that had fallen.

"I'm okay," he began smiling. "Now that you're here." He kissed Damon once more, pushing him onto his back. The vampire slipped his tongue into his boyfriend's mouth and immediately engaged in a battle of dominancy. His hands roamed all over Jeremy's back as he mentally noted that this had to have been the best kiss they had ever shared. However, there was a small voice in the back of his mind crying out that this was –

"Jere," Damon began, breaking their kiss. "Are you sure? Here? Bonnie and Caroline – and with what just happened…it doesn't seem very – I wanted our relationship's 'first' to be a little more –"

"Romantic?" finished Jeremy, completely ignorant to their surroundings at this point. He ran his hand through Damon's hair and smiled as he straddled his boyfriend's waist. "I almost died. I don't care where it happens. I just want it to happen – with you. Now." And, for the most part he meant it. He felt energized – alive. He wanted to touch every ounce of Damon almost as much as he wanted to be touched by him.

"But, are you –"

Jeremy smiled and feigned annoyance. "Shut up and kiss me!" Damon obliged and lifted his head, meeting his boyfriend's lips. Jeremy began to grind against Damon, brushing his growing member against the vampire's. A groan escaped Damon as he smiled through their kiss. The vampire firmly grasped Jeremy's ass, squeezed and pulled his boyfriend against him further. They soon developed a rhythm, rocking into one another, but it wasn't enough – Damon wanted him, more so than he ever had.

The vampire pushed forward, changing their positions, all the while trying his hardest to resist breaking the kiss; he gently laid Jeremy down against floor beneath them. Still trying to win the tongue war, Damon began unzipping Jeremy's pants and snaked his hand into the younger man's boxers. He wrapped his fingers around Jeremy's dick and began stroking him. Jeremy moaned slightly as he broke the kiss and began trailing his lips along Damon's neck; he reached into Damon's pants and grabbed at his ass.

He felt Damon laugh in his ear while he continued nibbling on the vampire's neck. He smiled as a chuckle of his own escaped him, tickling the vampire. Damon recoiled slightly, almost giggling, and placed his hand to his neck. "Why're you laughing?" he asked, partly sure that he was doing something that Jeremy didn't like. However, Jeremy liked every bit of it. He even whined as his boyfriend's hand left his member all by its lonesome.

"I'm biting your neck." Laughed Jeremy, placing his hands behind his head. "Usually it's the vampire that does the biting." He smiled seductively, biting his lip, as if he were hinting to Damon.

"Is that so?" asked Damon, a devilish smile of his own forming. "Lift your head up." He commanded with the sexiest voice he could muster before Jeremy without starting to laugh at his boyfriend's silliness. He unbuttoned the tattered blue shirt and casted it off; then, Damon tugged at Jeremy's undershirt and lifted it over his head, tossing it to the side. "I'm going to have my way with you, whether you like it or not." Damon said, as he peeled off his own jacket, followed by his shirt immediately after.

He placed his lips against the nape of Jeremy's neck and gently kissed them. Jeremy smiled as he let his hands roam over Damon's bare back. "As corny as this is going to sound," started Jeremy, trying to hold in his embarrassment – as well as his laughter- "You make me yours." Damon began trailing kisses along Jeremy's neck, and then to his collarbone. Slowly, he began kissing his way along his boyfriend's chest, and eventually to his stomach. Jeremy's happy trail brushed against the vampire's lips as he passed over it and stopped just above the younger man's waistline. He paused and pulled back, yanking Jeremy's jeans off and casting them off. He ran his hands up his boyfriend's now-naked legs, and he began to trail kisses along his thigh. He stopped once more as he reached where Jeremy's raging erection was threatening to break free.

Jeremy looked at Damon, his eyes pleading for Damon to continue and bit his lip in anticipation of the vampire's next move. He pulled Jeremy's boxers down revealing a very excited Jeremy, Jr. who was more than ready to play. Damon began stroking Jeremy lovingly, as he took one of his balls into his mouth – sucking gently; Jeremy moaned as the vampire turned his attention to the other testicle. He ran his hand up Jeremy's abdomen and let his other hand take over catering to Jeremy's jewels. He caught Jeremy's gaze and smiled as he descended upon Jeremy's member – taking the entirety of his dick into his mouth. _He tastes so good_, thought Damon. He started bobbing up and down, while he held his boyfriend's balls – massaging them.

"Oh, Damon –"moaned Jeremy, biting his lip harder – drawing blood. He was so hot, and to be perfectly honest: he was ready to come right there. But, he would hold off for as long as he could. He took a fistful of Damon's hair into his hand and guided his boyfriend along his dick. His head tilted backward slightly as he relished in the ecstasy of the moment_. This is perfect_. Damon began stroking the base of Jeremy's cock with his free hand as he licked and teased his pulsing head. Noticing the precome that was starting to drip down his dick, Damon licked it up and took his lover's cock once more.

"Damon –" he gasped. "I'm so – fucking –" Damon took this as his initiative to increase his pace; he sucked Jeremy's dick as hard as he could, making sure to pleasure him as much as he could. Jeremy began bucking gently into Damon's mouth until he couldn't hold on any longer. "Oh MY – FUCKKKKKK!" he exclaimed as he climaxed spilling his seed down Damon's throat. The vampire swallowed his boyfriend, and continued to glide up and down his penis until he was no longer hard. He wiped his own mouth and smiled as he crept back toward Jeremy, kissing him on the lips. "That was fucking – amazing." Jeremy breathed into the kiss.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Said Damon, breaking the kiss to gaze at his boyfriend.

Jeremy smiled, "I want you to fuck me. Now." Damon did not need to be told twice. Jeremy sat up and pushed his boyfriend to the ground, rather roughly, too.

"You're so hot, you know." Said Damon, closing his eyes as he let Jeremy have his turn. The younger man undid Damon's button and zipper, and wiggled the jeans off of him – leaving one sole item of clothing between the two men.

"Are those my boxers?" asked Jeremy, chuckling a bit. The vampire nodded as he removed and discarded the undergarment. _It's been too damn long_, thought Jeremy. He immediately took Damon's cock filling his mouth with his boyfriend's length. He began gliding up and down, fondling Damon's balls in a similar fashion that had been down to him moments before. Damon moaned as Jeremy began to hum against his already throbbing dick. "You're soooooo bad." Groaned the vampire, enjoying every moment of the gesture. Jeremy pulled away and began kissing the head of Damon's member, licking its length occasionally. "I want you." pleaded Jeremy, now stroking Damon.

"There's a condom in my jacket pocket." Replied Damon with a sense of urgency. He wanted this just as badly as Jeremy did. Jeremy crawled over to the jacket and began searching. A-ha! He turned to go back to his boyfriend but saw he wasn't there. Suddenly, he was grabbed by his shoulders and thrust against a wall. He couldn't help but smile at the desire, the want, and the love that Damon's eyes held. He ripped the package open and knelt down before Damon's cock, unrolling the condom onto his length. Damon pulled Jeremy back up and pressed his lips to the younger man's; deepening the kiss, he noticed Jeremy's now-erect dick brush up against his own raging hard-on. He took both of their members in his hand and stroked them against one another.

A whine escaped Jeremy as his tongue fought against Damon's; he wrapped his arms around Damon's neck, bucking into his hand. Holding the kiss, he abandoned their cocks and grabbed Jeremy by the waist and lifted him up. He began kissing the nape of Jeremy's neck as he pressed him against the wall. Jeremy whined once more as he tied his legs around the vampire. He began nibbling on Damon's ear, pausing only to whisper his desire once more, "I want you." More than happy to oblige, the vampire took his dick and pressed it against Jeremy's ass.

"Thank Trojan for lubricated condoms." Smiled Damon as he spread Jeremy's cheeks and slowly, and gingerly, began to push into Jeremy's hole. Jeremy winced at first, not used to Damon's presence being there. He pressed his forehead to Damon's and breathed deeply. "Do you need me to stop?" asked Damon, concerned for Jeremy's comfort.

"No," said Jeremy. "It's just been a while since we've done this." He admitted, gearing a smile toward Damon to encourage him.

"We've never made love before." Replied Damon with pure adoration in his eyes. Between each slight push, he waited as Jeremy's ass clenched around his pulsating cock. "You're – so – tight." He breathed, trying to maintain his stature.

Finally feeling a little less uncomfortable, Jeremy gasped, "Oh my God!" Damon slowly started to pull out, and push back in. Jeremy moaned as each thrust resulted in contact with his prostate. _Nice - fucking - aim_, Jeremy thought. Damon eyed the younger man's neck and began kissing it, increasing his pace only slightly. He had forgotten how wonderful this had felt, but he surely never imagined it to feel this amazing after being apart for so long – after falling in love with one another. That – that made it all the more enjoyable.

He started nibbling on Jeremy's neck as his boyfriend began to dig his nails across his back. Jeremy synced up with Damon's rhythm, and soon their pleasure was nearly doubled as the tuned into each others' needs. The vampire started thrusting deeper and harder into Jeremy, while the he, in turn, started riding up and down – as best he could – ignoring the slight pain being pinned against the wall was causing him. Making love with Damon made a little scenic uncomfortability worth it – if not a distant thought. "Oh, Damon!"

Damon's mind swirled with ecstasy as he concentrated on trying to please Jeremy for as long as he could. He dug his nails against Jeremy's back leaving similar claw marks that had been left on his own back. "Jere," he panted, "I could –" he paused ever-so-lightly trying to control himself. "-come any minute."

"Come for me!" moaned Jeremy. Damon continued thrusting into Jeremy as he placed his teeth against Jeremy's neck, lightly biting it. "Bite me!" begged Jeremy, riding Damon's cock harder. The vampire obliged and buried his teeth into his boyfriend's neck, breaking the skin. Trying to suppress his natural urges, he refused to allow himself to drink his boyfriend's blood. He pulled away, blood dripping along his lip, and met Jeremy's lips once more.

"Fuckkkk!" exclaimed Damon as he neared his climax, his pace increasing.

"Fuck me!" exclaimed Jeremy - half gasp, half plea. "Oh, Damon!"

Damon returned to Jeremy's neck, and bit into the otherside. However, this time, he did drink from him. A moan escaped from Jeremy as he found the sensation to be enjoyable in the heat of the moment. Damon's dick throbbed as he fucked Jeremy. He thrust inside of him again, and again…faster and faster –

"JEREMY!" he cried, busting his load inside of his boyfriend. He removed himself from the younger man's neck and slowly walked them back to where they began their love-making.

"I want you to stay inside of me." Pleaded Jeremy. Willing to please, Damon carefully knelt down – supporting their weight – and moved backward to lie down. However, feeling slightly uncomfortable, Jeremy slowly pulled himself off of his boyfriend's cock and removed the condom, tossing it to the side. He laid down next to the vampire and cuddled up, entangling his fingers with Damon's.

"I love you," confessed Damon as he brought their hands to his lips and kissed Jeremy's hand. Jeremy blushed at the gesture, regardless of what they had just done.

"I love you too," he replied, pushing himself against his boyfriend. "I missed you."

"I don't think saying 'I missed you, too' would quite encompass what I felt." Said the vampire, running his free hand through Jeremy's hair. "I promise you…nobody will ever hurt you ever again."

"Except you." Laughed Jeremy as he gently touched his neck, slightly creeped out by the dry blood.

Damon winced as he averted his gaze to his boyfriend's extreme-hickey, "I tried not to bite you too badly." His voice was laced with regret and worry.

"No, no!" consoled Jeremy. "I fucking loved it." He climbed on top of the vampire and pinned his wrists to the ground. Pressing his lips to Damon's, he smiled and glanced down at his dick. "You know…I could go again."

"Really now?" asked Damon, wearing a smirk of his own. "And, miss out on all of this post-coital bliss?"

"Mmhmm. Besides, by the time we get to the cuddles, it'll be that much more amazing."

"I love you!" exclaimed Damon.

"So, I've heard." Replied the younger man, licking his lips as he gazed at his pinned boyfriend contemplating what to do next to him.

* * *

"So, you got Jeremy back?" asked Stefan, slightly confused, handing Caroline a cup of tea.

Bonnie walked into the living room of the Salvatore house, with a cup of her own, and took a seat next to Caroline on the couch. "For the third time, yes." She directed a smile toward Caroline as they both tried to suppress a fit of the giggles.

"Then where is he?"

Caroline nodded to Bonnie, taking the question as her own. She pondered over the most delicate, appropriate words to describe the situation to Stefan without making anyone feel uncomfortable. "I think they're having sex."

Bonnie choked on her tea, "Caroline!" She glared at the vampire while trying to mask the fact that she too found it hilariously cute.

"What? It's not like I said that they were probably fucking!" the vampire crossed her arms in mock-frustration. "That would have been vulgar!"

Stefan stared incredulously at the two women, "Saying they were having alone time would definitely have sufficed." He fiddled with his thumbs as his mind began to paint pictures of the two men. "Oh, gross!" He smacked himself a few good times and added, "And, you two just left them there in that house?" Oh, how he wanted to change the subject. Talking about anything over his brother's sex life would do, actually.

"Well," began Bonnie, taking another sip of her tea. "We kind've didn't want to interrupt anything."

"Yeah, Stefan." Continued Caroline. "You didn't see Damon earlier. That library…that was all him. He just went on a rampage, tearing everything up in sight. I barely got him to stop!" Bonnie shot the vampire a sly look, but Caroline ignored it as she tried to hold back a giggle. "And, by the time I finally got Bonnie to come to, I heard the beginnings of some dirty-a-happenin's." She smiled pointing to her ear as though it held the long-sought-after secrets of a decade-long mystery.

The witch nodded in agreement with Caroline. "We figured they deserved some alone time."

"But, what about Katherine and Mason?" Stefan continued, hoping to hear that they were thwarted.

"Well, between the fight, and the explosion, they probably are under the impression that we're either badly injured or dead –"

"So, we probably won't hear from them for a few days." Interrupted Caroline, rolling her eyes at the thought of Katherine's inability to let the dead horse die.

Stefan's brow furrowed. "We really need to figure out what they're up to in the first place. Maybe Jeremy knows something about what they were plotting." He mused.

"He may." Said the blonde vampire. "But, I think you're better off asking him later – once he and Damon are done screwing like bunnies." She danced around in her seat as she thought about how cute their relationship was.

Trying to ignore Caroline's statements of Damon's sex life, Stefan confessed, "You know, I think I enjoyed it more when you hated the whole thing."

"No, I think this is funnier." Said Bonnie, enjoying the entire spectacle.

"Thanks for your support." Said Stefan, sarcastically. "I should probably get back and check in on Elena."

"By the way, how did you keep them from realizing something was up?" asked Bonnie.

"It's a long story."

* * *

"The fact that an itty-bitty chandelier knocked you out is rather disappointing!" exclaimed Katherine, tossing her arms in the air in frustration.

Mason, although embarrassed, crossed his arms and shot back, "Hey, I've still got some humanity, unlike you. Usually when objects come crashing to my head there is that whole period of unconsciousness."

The two had taken refuge in another one of Katherine's many hide-outs. Mason would have preferred to just exploit the guest wing of the Lockwood Manor, but he had to keep his family's safety as his number one priority. Although he wanted to break the curse more than anything, Mason wanted to ensure that Tyler and Carol were in no way involved with his actions, and occasional wrong-doings.

"Regardless, it's a good thing I had that little surprise set up, or Damon may have been able to exact some of his 'revenge'." She mocked her former lover as she fell into the werewolf's lap, who was now positioning himself on the couch to make her feel comfortable.

"And, now we're the top contenders on his Hit List." Sighed Mason. "And, without the moonstone. Without the boy. We've got to be the worst schemesters. "

Katherine lightly smacked his cheek. "No, no. There's always a 'Plan B'." She smiled as the gears in her mind began twisting and turning as though her existence depended on it.

"But, we don't have another plan." Retorted Mason.

"Mason, Mason, you underestimate me." Replied Katherine, her ever-present smile returning.

"Usually cohorts share their plans with one another."

"In time." Replied Katherine.

"You do realize keeping me ignorant to this grand plan of yours is only going alienate me from the whole scope things, don't you?" retorted Mason, annoyed with being kept in the dark.

The vampire sat up and looked the werewolf directly in the eye. "Fine. I'll drop a few teasers then: witch; death; moonstone; more death; and, a happily ever after for yours truly." She grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him closer. "Now, shut up and kiss me."

* * *

Damon delicately tip-toed his fingers along Jeremy's back, making sure not to wake him. A light snore escaped the younger man as he slept atop the vampire's chest. Damon was beyond ecstatic. He had Jeremy back, and they had spent the better part of the evening making love. However, he knew that the bliss would have to end – partly because that was the natural order of things such as these, and also because it bothered him to still be inside of this house. _How can he sleep so peacefully?_ Damon mused as he debated whether or not he should begin his hunt for Katherine and Mason immediately, or wait for her to strike again.

He felt a warm tingle on his nipple as a moan escaped Jeremy, now stirring from his slumber. He blinked his eyes a few times, adjusting to the dim room, and turned his head toward Damon. "Good morning." He mumbled with a sheepish grin.

"Good evening." Corrected Damon, equally smiley. "You've been out forever."

Jeremy laughed, "You're just so comfy!" He stretched his arms out as far as he could and snuggled back up to his boyfriend. Jeremy planted a kiss on Damon's lips, who eagerly responded by pinching the younger man's ass.

Breaking the kiss, Damon lovingly grabbed his boyfriend's chin and spoke, "We should probably get out of here." Jeremy laid his head back on the vampire's chest and sighed.

"You're right."

"Why so glum?" asked Damon, propping himself up on his elbows.

"I'm oddly content just laying here with you – regardless of – you know – what Katherine and Mason did." He rolled off of Damon, and looked off into the ceiling, expecting to find something prophetic, or spiritual.

"Hey, that's all over now."

"Part of me is expecting them to come down here and chain me back to the floor." Said Jeremy, pausing. "But, you're here." He smiled, pushing the thought to the far reaches of his mind.

"Damn straight. Nobody will ever be able to hurt you like that ever again." Promised the vampire. "Now, come on, let's get out of here." He offered a warm smile and nodded to one of the many piles of clothing that littered the room. The men gathered their clothing and redressed themselves, occasionally sneaking in quick kisses and 'accidental' touches. They were elated to be passed this event, as well as excited by taking their relationship to the next level.

However, within the younger man's own being brewed an internal dilemma. Jeremy's mind weighed with worry, a worry that he would keep to himself. He wouldn't share his concern with Damon – it would only worry him more so than need be, but he feared that he would never feel completely safe again, or at least so long as Katherine stalked the nights of Mystic Falls. _It's silly, though, this worry. I'm fine so long as Damon's around_, he reassured himself.

"Ready?" asked Damon, stealing him away from his thoughts.

"Almost." Replied Jeremy, pulling his shirt over his head. He noticed a hand pulling up the zipper of his jeans, and was greeted by a smiling Damon once his shirt was on. "Well, hi there."

"Hi." Swooned Damon, as he gazed into his boyfriend's eyes – gently pushing some of his hair back. He swept Jeremy into his arms. "Hold on tight."

Damon jumped into the doorway, exiting the basement. He set his boyfriend down and walked down the hallway. Following his lead, Jeremy began to notice the wreckage that lay motionless from the fight from before. "Wow."

"I wasn't taking 'No' for an answer." Damon smiled and extended his hand to his boyfriend. A smile spread across Jeremy's face as he wrapped his own hand in Damon's, walking out of the now-derelict house together.

* * *

**Author's Note: I'd like to note, and thank, each and every person that has not only stumbled upon this story and given it a moment of their time, but also stuck around chapter to chapter. Being that I never saw myself continuing after Chapter Three, this is certainly a reader-driven effort. Oh, and they had sex. Twice. Oh-em-gee. Until next time.  
**


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